I wasn’t sure what to think when I started looking at screenshots of Pharaoh’s Dance. It kind of looked like I was trying to play a platformer in a kaleidoscope, and watching the video of it only increased my sense of visual disorientation. It’s quite a trip to see the game in motion, but fighting against the weird feeling of being visually overwhelmed is one of the things that just adds to the game’s challenge and charm.
Pharaoh’s Dance looks like it will be treading familiar 3D platforming ground, but that visual twist, among some other things, look to make the game stand out. Your job is to collect coins while hopping up platforms in 3D. The game keeps itself on a single viewing plane, so thankfully that tosses camera manipulation out the window. Instead, you just have to keep track of your shadow while working your way up some extremely tall towers, all while collecting as many coins as you can. It might sound like a Mario game on paper, but you also have to deal with your air supply. There are tokens you can collect to keep yourself breathing, but otherwise, you may have to make a mad scramble all the way back down to the bottom to grab a fresh gulp of air. The game only grants you one life to get the highest score you possibly can, so keeping your character alive is greatly important.
Those things all sound neat on their own, but again, the weird, carnival-colored visuals made the game interesting. I found that they almost overwhelmed my eyes as I watched the character move around, and that they would add some additional, but strange, challenge to the game. They’re right on the border or creating a neat strain on my senses or just giving me a headache, but either way, I think they add a lot of color and life to what might have otherwise been a simple formula.
If you’re as curious as I am about how this mad carnival platformer works and feels, won’t you join me in trying out the free demo?
