Decline's Drops (PC, NSW, XBS) Review

We now turn our attention away from Mega Man for a little bit for a review of a game that's been on PC via Steam and itch.io for a bit and has only recently released on consoles, specifically the Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X|S. This game is Decline's Drops, and despite its name, you might find yourself INclined to play this game after reading the SuperPhillip Central review!

This platformer's got some serious punch

Decline's Drops stars Globule, a mute wooden puppet who one day is tending to her lovely garden when all of a sudden, said garden is destroyed! Thus, Globule sets out to discover the perpetrators and their whereabouts to rightfully deliver some justice through her giant punching glove fists. The story is pretty scarce overall (a plus for me, as in a platformer I want to get straight to the action without much in the way of interruptions), save for the opening and ending cutscenes, and dialogue during boss battles, but the game does a nice job of providing a satirical take on concepts like pollution and corporate greed without feeling ham-fisted.

Take the gameplay of Super Smash Bros. and combine that with the platforming and secrets of Yoshi's Island, and you somewhat get an idea of what Decline's Drops is all about. Globule has her aforementioned punching gloves to bash and beat baddies to a pulp with a myriad of moves, from simple short jabs to more powerful "smash"-like attacks. All of these can be combined to jostle, juggle, and jam enemies into submission. 

No time for a rope-a-dope, so just punch that chick into submission, Globule.

Globule even has a Smash Bros-like dodge used to evade enemy attacks at the last moment, as well as being able to use the same evasion move in midair to reach higher or further away areas. Regardless, she'll need all the strength and moves in her repertoire she can muster, as the six worlds in the game pit Globule against all forms and sizes of foes, including those in rooms sprinkled about the levels where all enemies must be defeated before she can move on.

Dodging can not only be done on the ground to avoid attacks, but also in midair to move higher and farther, too!

Levels are wonderfully done, offering plenty of verticality a lot of the time, a multitude of secrets that are smartly hidden but also well telegraphed to not give players a sense of "well, how was I supposed to find THAT?!", and lots of exploration. Yes, you can simply run from point A to point B to clear levels, but exploring them and discovering their cleverly laid secrets and optional areas really gives you a fuller appreciation of these levels. 

Bounce off these streetlamps with care, Globule, or else you'll find that oil's well doesn't exactly end well!

And, goodness, do the levels house some masterfully placed secrets. As stated, secrets are telegraphed well to the point of not being unfair, but also requiring real observance of Globule's surroundings and environments to discover. I'm referring to fake walls that have the telltale signs of being able to be broken through, or ones that require Globule to make a running start so she can eventually transform into a big blue fist to smash through otherwise impenetrable blocks.  

The main optional collectible in Decline's Drops reminds me a bit of the previously mentioned Yoshi's Island and its five Smiley Flowers per level. These take the form of Heart Fragments in Decline's Drops, and you guessed it--there are five per level as well. Most are located in out-of-the-way or hard-to-find or reach locations, while others are inside specific chests, requiring passwords to open. These passwords are situated on nearby signs and come in the form of hitting the chests in specific directions in a specific pattern (aka up punches, down punches, punches from the left, punches from the right). This is where I found that sometimes my punches wouldn't land as planned. What I mean by this is that sometimes Globule would punch twice, fouling up the chest's password in the process, or Globule would smash the ground instead of simply punching downward once. 

When given enough runway to speed across, Globule can transform on
 command into a giant fist to smash through certain objects and obstacles!

Either way, gripe aside, whereas collecting all Smiley Flowers in a world in later Yoshi games unlocked a secret level in the world they were collected in... well, that's actually the same case in Decline's Drops! Instead, a more difficult platforming-filled level known as a Vanitas opens up once all Heart Fragments are obtained in a given world. These seldom host checkpoints, require careful, cautious, precision platforming, and can get the palms mighty sweaty, too! Take it from me. They're enjoyable challenges all the same, however.

Otherwise, another collectible of the optional variety in Decline's Drops' levels is that of a red key. Collecting this and finishing the level with it brings about a post-level mini-game where you pilot Globule in a big blue glove form (she takes on a somewhat similar form when underwater) as you race through a labyrinth of corridors, pathways, and boost pads to beat a pod to the finish line. Winning these races unlocks new color pallet choices for Globule, and once all the races have been won, they net a bunch of Drops, the currency of the game.

There are a wide variety of platforming challenges and enemy types to contend with throughout Decline's Drops and its carefully and cleverly crafted levels. For instance, there are rails that send Globule grinding along their path which she must switch between with caution, Donkey Kong Country-like cannons that fire our puppet protagonist out (and hopefully not into peril) with proper timing, switches and levers that need to be activated to open up gates and doors, and sequences where Globule must make haste and retreat from a pursuing wall of pollution or else find herself instantly defeated. There are also ample opportunities for the game to shine in both its platforming and punching, throwing in puzzle elements, too, such as hitting floating yellow blocks with arrows on them. The direction Globule hits one of these blocks in, sends it flying in that direction until it smacks against a solid object. There are even plenty of puzzles that require you to get these blocks from one destination to another to open locked doors and reach new heights. 

Mind the rails, mind the gap, mind the pollution--heck, just mind EVERYTHING, Globule!

Fortunately, despite all of the trials and tribulations Globule faces on her adventure, checkpoints are fairly common throughout Decline's Drops. Therefore, repeating large portions of levels is seldom a common happenstance. That said, later levels do get incredibly challenging in both battles and platforming tasks. That isn't to say they require a professional's rank of platforming prowess to progress in the latter half of the game, but you will occasionally get stuck. 

This is especially true for the bosses, which pit you against one of the six Hydra heads in battle. These end-of-world levels, like any game worth its weight, relies on witness boss patterns, acclimating to them, knowing when to go in to attack, and knowing when and how to dodge each boss' offensive advances. These battles will take not just part of your cunning, but pretty much all of it to come out unscathed--or at the very least, the victor. I did appreciate the level of challenge of the bosses, and each time I failed, it was because I didn't properly dodge attacks or got too greedy. It was always on me, and never the game.  

The first Hydra to fight. "Hi, 'Dra! Why so angry?"

Fortunately, there are ways to assist Globule and the player in general on their adventure. An in-game shop run by a genetically-engineered ape named Serge houses a host of helpful trinkets and tools that Globule can spend her fiercely fought and hard-earned Drops to purchase. Only one particular trinket can be equipped at once to Globule, but these range from boosting her special attack, doubling her health, turning all of her special attacks into massive fireballs, and providing hints as to locations of the game's hidden goodies--to name a handful of helpful wares.

Decline's Drops is a rather meaty game all-in-all, coming in at around 10 hours for me, though I was methodically going through levels to make sure I collected every Heart Fragment along the way to unlock and complete the Vanitas levels, and also played through the final optional seventh world, complete with its own challenges, platforming perils, enemy types, and yes, a true final boss. I didn't, however, opt to aim for all of the time trials, and thus take on going after all of the gold times which seemed far beyond my level of play (and honestly, far beyond my level of commitment to the game either). That said, the option is there to add even more replay value and longevity to Globule's journey.

The art style of Decline's Drops is marvelous in presentation and appearance. The entire adventure is seemingly hand-drawn, and the first world definitely brings about an aesthetic reminiscent of Yoshi's Island, which was much appreciated to me, as a fan of that game. Future worlds offer the same beautiful hand-drawn goodness, offering detailed environments, backgrounds, easy to parse areas visually, and fluid animations all-around. Musically, I found the soundtrack to be very good. In fact, I am eager to purchase it on the artists' Bandcamp page to further support it, and that's not something I do often! Nevertheless, the soundtrack is full of memorable and rather nifty and neat themes that I will enjoy listening to outside of the game.

Decline's Drops is most certainly a looker with a charming, gorgeous hand-drawn delight of an art style.

While I wouldn't raise Globule's glove up and claim she and her premiere adventure are the undisputed champions or anything like that, I will say that Decline's Drops certainly surprised me with its high quality in precision platforming, engaging combat, and copious secrets in its well done level design. This mishmash of Super Smash Bros. gameplay and Yoshi's Island-like level design is one that I certainly enjoyed and can see myself coming back to in the future. Minor aggravations and gripes did pop up, and the difficulty of the game may be off-putting for many not used to Smash Bros. and its particular style of melee gameplay (and heck, even for those who ARE used to it). Overall, though, if you can dig a gorgeous hand-drawn 2D platformer with plenty of personality, charm, and character, as well as lots of action and platforming goodness to adore, then definitely "drop" what you're doing to take on the drop of a different variety with Decline's Drops.

[SPC Says: B+]