Banana Hell

About

Banana Hell is a single player casual strategy game. It was developed by Petriheart and was released on November 7, 2020. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"Banana Hell" is a tough platformer where you jump upwards to collect crystals, while avoiding enemies and mastering precise jumping techniques. Featuring banana monologues that provide company and bad jokes, the game's extreme challenge will require patience, skill, and a good sense of timing. Prepare to spend hours perfecting your jumps and conquering its progressively harder levels.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

67%

Audience ScoreBased on 292 reviews

music12 positive mentions

replayability3 negative mentions

The game features vibrant graphics and a quirky, humorous banana protagonist that adds charm to the experience.
Many players find the precision platforming mechanics enjoyable, providing a satisfying challenge that rewards persistence.
The dialogue and quirky humor, while divisive, can be entertaining and add a unique flavor to the gameplay.

The controls are often described as clunky and unresponsive, leading to frustration during gameplay.
The game lacks variety, with only five levels that can feel repetitive and monotonous.
Many players feel that the difficulty is artificially inflated due to poor design choices rather than skill-based challenges.

music
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
42%
12%
The music in the game is generally described as catchy and calming, enhancing the overall experience despite the frustrating gameplay. While some players appreciate the energetic soundtrack and humorous dialogue, others find it repetitive and not particularly memorable. Overall, the soundtrack is a highlight for many, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere, even if the gameplay itself is criticized.
- “The game's humor and catchy soundtrack add to the fun.”
- “Actually maybe because of the music I found it pretty calm even when I'd drop back to the beginning.”
- “It's challenging but not unfair, and the peaceful graphics and beautiful music make for a relaxing experience.”
- “The soundtrack is energetic and repetitive, driving the tempo of your climbs but occasionally grinding on the nerves during prolonged failure streaks.”
- “Nothing about the music, level design, or dialogue are particularly memorable either.”
- “And the music volume slider does not work.”
humor
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
96%
4%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with some players finding it a delightful distraction from the challenging gameplay, while others feel it exacerbates their frustration. The quirky, offbeat humor, often delivered through amusing dialogue and pop-culture references, adds a layer of charm, though opinions on its effectiveness vary widely. Overall, the humor is described as chaotic, melancholic, and sometimes cringe-worthy, contributing to a unique experience that some players appreciate despite the game's shortcomings.
- “In the end, banana hell is a compact but potent challenge that blends precision platforming with offbeat humor and a gleefully punishing design philosophy.”
- “Funny game, banana johnson keeps things fun.”
- “Art is amazing and the little things the banana says as you play can be really funny.”
- “The writing is also obnoxiously bad, with plenty of unfunny jokes.”
gameplay
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
54%
23%
The gameplay of "Banana Hell" is characterized by its frustrating and punishing nature, relying heavily on timing and precision without offering engaging mechanics or depth. Players often find the experience monotonous and lacking in interesting gameplay concepts, with many expressing that the controls feel floaty and unrefined. While the visuals and music are praised, the overall gameplay is seen as a tedious trial rather than a rewarding challenge.
- “Nothing hides behind elaborate mechanics or flashy abilities; you win or lose based purely on timing, spacing, and emotional endurance.”
- “While Super Meat Boy and VVVVVV focus on high-speed, precision-based platforming, Banana Hell aims for a similar experience, though with slightly less refined controls and floatier mechanics.”
- “One missed jump can result in you falling a considerable distance, which, given the difficulty of the game, can amount to hours of gameplay.”
- “Rather than teaching mechanics gradually, the game seems eager to punish experimentation, often feeling like a long series of trials that must be endured rather than mastered.”
- “My issue with the game: the gameplay is absolutely monotone and boring.”
- “This game is an interesting case; it has really great visuals but the gameplay feels really lacking unfortunately.”
graphics
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
36%
14%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the vibrant visuals and artistic style as breathtaking and refreshing, while others noted inconsistencies, such as mismatched hitboxes and a clash between visual and animation styles. Overall, the game's graphics are often highlighted as a strong point, contributing to an engaging atmosphere, despite some critiques regarding gameplay and sound design.
- “The graphics are breathtaking, the sound design is awe-inspiring, and the protagonist of the story is one of the most charismatic and likable characters in fiction.”
- “The visuals are awesome and it seems like a simple indie game.”
- “It's challenging but not unfair, and the peaceful graphics and beautiful music make for a relaxing experience.”
- “Graphics worse than Super Mario.”
- “Enemy hitboxes do not match the visuals (especially along the x-axis), and when your game revolves around ducking under enemies and jumping after they pass, this is a major issue.”
- “The visuals are unique, but they clash with the animation style and make the game look amateur.”
story
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The game's story is minimal, lacking exploration and context-sensitive commentary, which detracts from the experience. However, players appreciate the charismatic protagonist and the game's artistic elements, drawing comparisons to nostalgic elements from MapleStory jump quests. Overall, while the narrative may be underwhelming, the game's visuals and sound design are highly praised.
- “Nah, I'm joking. This game is a literal work of art; the graphics are breathtaking, the sound design is awe-inspiring, and the protagonist of the story is one of the most charismatic and likable characters in fiction.”
- “Also, fun fact: I was informed by a friend that this is heavily inspired by MapleStory jump quests, so that's neat.”
- “There is no story or exploration, and it would have been better if the commentary from the banana was context-sensitive, instead of it just yapping non-stop.”
- “[0.1] game story”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players highlight the emotional intensity of the game, noting that success relies on timing and emotional endurance rather than complex mechanics. While some feel the character interactions could be enhanced with more dialogue, the game's ability to evoke strong feelings is evident, with one player mentioning it nearly brought them to tears.
- “Nothing hides behind elaborate mechanics or flashy abilities; you win or lose based purely on timing, spacing, and emotional endurance.”
- “This game almost made me cry.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's replayability is primarily driven by the challenge of achieving faster completion times or testing personal endurance, as the focused design ensures that every challenge is significant. However, the limited scope may reduce the overall variety in replay experiences.
- “This limited scope means the experience is not padded—every challenge is meaningful—but it also means that once you’ve conquered the mountain, replay value comes mostly from attempting faster runs or simply proving to yourself that you can endure the punishment again.”
- “After completing the game, I found little incentive to return. The lack of varied paths or outcomes makes replaying feel more like a chore than an enjoyable experience.”
- “While the game is fun the first time through, the lack of new content or different choices on subsequent playthroughs really diminishes its replayability.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization has been criticized for being poor, with users reporting a frustratingly low frame rate of 15fps, indicating significant performance issues.
- “15 FPS - poor optimization in Godot.”
- “The game runs at a frustratingly low frame rate, making it nearly unplayable.”
- “Optimization issues lead to frequent stuttering and lag during gameplay.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent bugs, random freezes, and problems with closing properly.
- “Still has a lot of bugs; the game randomly freezes and doesn't close.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
- “I experience constant lag and stability issues that ruin the overall experience.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be both energizing and frustrating; while the soundtrack enhances the experience during climbs, it can become grating during extended periods of failure, leading to a perception of the gameplay as tedious.
- “The soundtrack is energetic and repetitive, driving the tempo of your climbs but occasionally grinding on the nerves during prolonged failure streaks.”
- “By 'hard' the developer means 'super frickin' tedious.'”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is primarily driven by functional audio cues that effectively signal jumps and landings, but overall, the soundscape lacks a deeper, immersive quality.
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
While users appreciate the character design, there is limited feedback on the depth of character development, suggesting that visual appeal may not be complemented by strong narrative growth.