Gunman Clive

Gunman Clive is one of the best values you can find in a platformer. Although it's rather short, it's both affordable and replayable. I only paid a dollar each of the three times I bought it, and I ended up playing through the campaign multiple times on multiple platforms. The sepia-toned sketchbook style looks absolutely amazing, and the soundtrack was so good that I bought that too, but even if the pure joy of playing isn't enough to keep you invested, you'll still likely appreciate the four unique characters and the ways they change how you approach each of the stages. However, even if you just play through the game once, I think it is a worthy investment.

Gunman Clive starts out as a pretty standard action platformer, having you run and gun your way across the old West as you try to save the kidnapped Ms. Johnson (or Clive himself if you play as any of the other three characters). It's not until you come across your first duck that you'll get the subtle feeling that this might not be the simple cowboy platformer you thought it was. What follows is a surprisingly well-rounded assortment of stages, complete with new enemies, unique platforming challenges, diverse environments, and even a few epic boss fights. I was stunned by how much I enjoyed this game when I first played it on 3DS, and now that the gorgeous HD version is available on Switch, bundled with its sequel no less, I think the next step is pretty obvious.

Hands down, this game is a buy. It's dirt cheap and often on sale, yet it looks amazing, plays perfectly, and is surprisingly engaging. While it is clearly designed for fans of action platformers, I think everyone who likes video games can find something to appreciate about Gunman Clive. The difficulty can be a little intense at times, but the instant-restarts and lack of a lives system means you aren't really punished for screwing up, and a little persistence will get you to end eventually. Coming from a small indie developer, Gunman Clive will likely never get the appreciation it deserves from the wider videogame community, but I still think it should have a home on everyone's Switch.

The game is available for 3DS here (as of 2/9/22): https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/gunman-clive-3ds/
The game is available for WiiU here (as of 2/9/22): https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/gunman-clive-hd-collection-wii-u/
The game is available for Switch here (as of 2/9/22): https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/gunman-clive-hd-collection-switch/
The game is available for Steam here (as of 2/9/22): https://store.steampowered.com/app/262550/Gunman_Clive/

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