Psst. Do you like hardcore 2D platformers? Or maybe you like little green men, like, gooby-wooby-looking balls of green? Then I present to you Gimmick! 2, which has a surprise exclamation point before the “2” and all of the above. It’s out now and will undoubtedly please fans who have been waiting years for a sequel to the original Gimmick!, and perhaps for other platformer enthusiasts looking for a decidedly different kind of gap-hopper game.
For a quick snippet of context, the original Gimmick! was a Famicom platformer developed by Sunsoft and released in 1992. Funnily enough, at the time it was only localized to Scandinavia, where it was called Mr. Gimmick (which is what all the Demon Souls bosses should be called… ahem, anyway). It starred a green yokai named Yumetaro who went on a quest to save a teenage girl from evil toys. It has been re-released multiple times since then, most recently receiving a 2023 remaster called Gimmick! Special Edition.
And so Swedish developer Bitwave and publisher Sunsoft have teamed up to release Gimmick! 2, many years later. It stars the same Yumetaro, who sets off on a different quest, all in an updated aesthetic with a Spelunky sheen. The game will have you jumping, dodging spikes, and solving puzzles like you would in almost any other platform game. But what sets it apart is Yumetaro’s ability to summon and throw powerful stars—his gimmick, you might say—that not only bounce, but Also maintains momentum with its movement. You can utilize it to activate switches, hit enemies, and eliminate sections of the map to reveal secret locations. Oh, and you can trick enemies into making their heads create helpful platforms as they fall to their deaths.
Gimmick! 2 honestly looks like a complex platformer, due to the physical interactions between your little green bug, his jumping star, and the obstacles you’re trying to hit, run over, or knock over. I imagine it requires a lot of precise movements and risk-taking, especially when it comes to surfing that star at critical moments. But I also imagine it provides some problem-solving fun that doesn’t just require carefully timed air jumps. There’s an assisted mode if you want it easier, otherwise there’s Gimmick! mode for a “true to the original” challenge.
You can find the game here Couple if you’re interested. Thanks to RPS commenter treelo for the tip.
