There used to be an embeded media player here, but it doesn't work anymore. We blame the Tumbeasts.
Offspring Fling! is a action puzzle platformer that follows a forest creature who must reclaim her scattered children. The forest is dangerous and will require a certain raptor-like cleverness to prevail. Also, in the quest to find the mother’s children, players will have to use the recovered children as projectiles. Throw those babies, because the lives of the other babies depend on it.
Beyond the goal of saving the children, there isn’t much else to the story. Thankfully, there are no boring cutscene panels to endure; the premise is there and then it’s all about playing. There are other creatures in the forest, like bees or evil-like turtles. Mother isn’t equipped with any weapons to fight them, but she can use her babies to stun them. The stun only lasts for so long, so tasks must be completed quickly. Even jumping on the other creatures is frowned upon in this game; I blew up into a bloody mess upon trying.
When starting the game up players will enter a surprisingly colorful forest and embark on a journey through puzzles. The hand-drawn visuals resemble 16-bit graphics. The levels start out easy: climb up to baby, collect baby, exit map. Shortly afterward the levels will require players to throw babies across the level, triggering a button so the mother can gain access to other areas. The levels gain difficulty at a decent pace and I never felt stuck in a learning phase where I was “pressing ‘X’ to Jason” for a half hour too long. The variety of puzzles is also good; I never found myself bored by the same types of puzzles from level to level.
There are over 100 levels pre-made for the game, but if those weren’t enough, players have access to even more. Included in the game is a level editor and its own website “Sharing is Caring!!” where players will be able to upload and download each others’ custom levels. Through the website players will also see the top scores, downloads, and available replays.
Normally I stay clear of level editors because my end results look like scribbles made by a toddler. This level editor, however, is quite inviting. As of right now there isn’t a tutorial available, but the FAQ page will be receiving some updates and tips. Inside the level editor, there are images of pieces from existing levels. Users can click on a section of that image and place it on to their handmade map. No rendering is required; users can see their map come together in real time. So far, there are only a large handful of user-created levels available for download.
Along with the level downloads, players will be able to able to download replays. Replays show completed runs of others as a ghost character while the current player is finishing the level. Ghost players normally complete puzzles fast, but I found them to be a great help if I was stuck on a level. I also found them to be outright mocking when I couldn’t beat the best time for that level.
Offspring Fling! is a simple game, but that doesn’t diminish the enjoyment of playing it. Players don’t have to wait for the good part because they’ll already be knee deep in it. There are a variety of puzzles to keep the game fresh, user-created levels for additional pleasure, and ghost replays to bring in a competitive aspect to the game. All of these powers combined make this game the type where a person can lose hours at a time without noticing.
