Lovish is the latest retro-inspired indie darling to come out of LABS Works and Matt Kap, the person responsible for games like the Castle in the Darkness series and the fantastic Astalon: Tears of the Earth game.
Lovish is a brand new byte-sized platformer that sees players make their way through over 50 stages, spread across 7 worlds, featuring unique boss encounters to top it off. Stages in Lovish are single-room affairs, meaning they can be completed anywhere from under 30 seconds to a couple of minutes or longer, particularly when the difficulty starts to ramp up.
Speaking of difficulty, Lovish can be best described as a bowl of mild Japanese curry, which, in other words, means that if you’re used to the pleasant heat of a little challenge, Lovish is the perfect level of spice that won’t hold your hand, but never to the point of frustration. In essence, if you’re a fan of old-school platformers, you will get a kick out of Lovish.
Lovish relies on its simplicity to deliver well-polished and refined gameplay moments. As Solomon, the hero tasked with saving the Princess, players can only take one hit before having to restart the level. Power-ups can augment Solomon’s damage tolerance, but upgrades in Lovish are expensive and take time, making them more of a long-term bonus than something players should rely on or grind towards.
Instead, taking your time to master the simple jumping and attacking mechanics will reward you with steadfast progress. Eventually, around world five, enemies and bosses become much more agile, which does incentivize going back to the shop to purchase some upgrades. These include the ability to dash, attack downwards or upwards, a ranged bolt of lightning, and some more curious upgrades, such as a cellphone.
“Lovish exudes charm with its random events.”
One aspect that sets Lovish apart and elevates it from simply being a solid but ultimately safe platformer is the (mostly) random events in between each level. From encounters with strange creatures, to finding pieces of candy and treasure chests filled with gold (or not), Lovish excudes charm with its random events, which sometimes feel more like the minigames found in old WarioWare titles, than actual cutscenes or throwaway sequences that don’t add to the overall experience.
On that note, Lovish also includes a Game Boy-inspired handheld that players can find early on their quest to save the Princess, one that happens to feature a fairly robust Zelda-like clone that somehow manages to be almost as engaging as the main game itself.
The primary platforming levels themselves in Lovish start fairly straightforward, simply requiring the player to direct Solomon to the exit. However, things quickly get more interesting with the introduction of multiple keys, which are necessary to open the exit, crumbling platforms, and even magic mirrors that warp Solomon around the stage, ala Portal.
Combined with the larger-than-life bosses, unique stage biomes, and well-written excerpts of exposition, there is a lot to love with Lovish. Those who relish in retro, I recommend turning off the default aliasing filter the game has on upon first boot, which takes away from the pixel-perfect graphics that look much better when raw, in their gloriously chunky 8-bit glory.
Fans of LABO Works’ previous titles will want to check out Lovish, as despite the game being a standalone and new property, it still takes the time to feature several nods and easter eggs to earlier titles from the developer, including the aforementioned Astalon: Tears of the Earth.
“Combined with the larger-than-life bosses, unique stage biomes, and well-written excerpts of exposition, there is a lot to love with Lovish.”
Lovish is solid on the TV, but truly shines on the Nintendo Switch 2’s nearly 8” screen, which is the perfect size for the often chunkier graphics to feel right at home, making it ideal for portable or tabletop play. However, I do recommend something other than the Joy-Con controllers, as a D-pad goes a long way in precision platformers such as Lovish.
Compared to previous titles from LABS Works, Lovish is more of a straightforward platformer, making it better suited for handhelds like the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck, while also being a great palate cleanser between more expansive games or AAA efforts.
In closing, Lovish is a standout platformer that evokes the good old days of the Nintendo Entertainment System, or more aptly, the Famicom, giving platforming fans an instant, indie-classic and a must-play for retro enthusiasts.
