Canyon Capers

About

Canyon Capers is a single player casual platformer game with a violence theme. It was developed by Crazy Moo Games and was released on April 25, 2014. It received negative reviews from players.

"Canyon Capers" is a retro-style arcade platform game that brings back the nostalgia of classic gaming. Play as DinoJr and his friends, navigating through treacherous canyons and caverns to retrieve the Golden Mollusk. With 50 levels and a difficulty curve ranging from easy to rock hard, this game will challenge your wits and reflexes. Full Steam support, including achievements, stats, and trading cards, adds modern features to this old-school experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

37%

Audience ScoreBased on 712 reviews

humor13 positive mentions

graphics27 negative mentions

Canyon Capers is a fun little euro-platformer that brings back nostalgic memories of classic games.
The game is playable and offers a decent challenge, making it enjoyable for casual gamers.
It has a variety of characters with unique abilities, adding some depth to the gameplay.

The graphics and overall design feel outdated and reminiscent of old Amiga games, which may not appeal to everyone.
The gameplay can be frustrating due to poor hit detection, tedious item collection, and punishing level design.
The sound effects and music are repetitive and annoying, detracting from the overall experience.

graphics
85 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
60%
32%
The graphics of the game have received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many users describing them as outdated, inconsistent, and poorly executed. Critics have noted that the retro pixel art style fails to deliver a cohesive aesthetic, often resembling low-quality flash animations or early 90s games. Overall, the visuals are considered a significant drawback, detracting from the gameplay experience and failing to justify the game's price point.
- “Canyon Capers is trying to be a retro platformer and to make you feel like you would be playing some of the legendary arcade platformers from the 90s, only in better graphic presentation.”
- “The graphics are colorful and the controls are spacebar to jump and to move your character around, the arrow keys.”
- “The graphics have a retro style/feel but without resorting to the usual blocky style many retro-style games have.”
- “The graphics didn't age well and the characters look ugly (they remind me of Bolbi Stroganovsky from Jimmy Neutron. Slap slap slap, clap clap clap.)”
- “The retro pixel graphic theme isn't consistent, and the game would have been better with better graphics, considering you can get older AAA games with 3D graphics for less than the whopping $10 price tag this game has.”
- “The graphics and animations are hideous, ugly, or nonexistent.”
gameplay
70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
55%
31%
The gameplay of the game has been widely criticized for being frustrating, tedious, and uninspired, often compared to outdated flash games. Players noted issues such as stiff controls, repetitive mechanics focused on item collection, and poorly designed levels that lead to unfair difficulty spikes. Overall, the gameplay experience is described as dull and lacking polish, making it unenjoyable for many.
- “The soccer-based DLC is a nice spin on the basic gameplay and brings good variety.”
- “A variety of challenges and competent mechanics make this a surprisingly enjoyable platformer.”
- “The graphics are really good, and the gameplay is solid.”
- “This is a frustrating item-collection platformer with tedious gameplay, constant knockback, and punishing design.”
- “The gameplay itself is boring (jump around and collect the diamonds).”
- “The gameplay is a slog and the sounds will wreck your nerves.”
music
66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
45%
47%
The music in the game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many players describing it as repetitive, annoying, and reminiscent of a low-quality banjo band. Users noted that the single looping track quickly becomes grating, leading them to mute the game or switch to their own music. While a few found it somewhat fitting or catchy, the general consensus is that the soundtrack detracts significantly from the overall experience.
- “I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
- “You get powers, difficult challenges, even some kind of 'good to the ears' music that allows you to immerse into the game.”
- “On the plus side, the music and visuals are decent.”
- “The single annoying music track that plays on a loop will undoubtedly drive most people insane long before they reach the later levels where the game just starts throwing every infuriating enemy and environmental danger at the player at once, without any rhyme or reason to the level design.”
- “Artistically it is very inconsistent, and with the equally odd choice of stock banjo music blaring over everything, it didn't take long for me to develop a headache.”
- “The music is unremarkable.”
story
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
48%
35%
The game's story is largely criticized for being nonexistent or uninteresting, with many reviewers noting a lack of engaging plot or character development. While some acknowledge that not all games require a strong narrative, the absence of a compelling story detracts from the overall experience, especially in a game that fails to deliver enjoyable gameplay. Overall, the consensus is that the story is generic and uninspired, contributing to a lackluster gaming experience.
- “Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
- “[b]story:[/b] I'm under the impression that you're an explorer, inside a canyon, capping gems, coins, fruit, and treasure boxes.”
- “This is a fun, strange, corny game but good for younger ages :) or you may just like fun, corny gameplay. I give the game 6/10; it was okay, but the story could have been better.”
- “There is no story.”
- “Generic, storyless platformer.”
- “To recap, the story was nonexistent.”
humor
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the funny characters and cute elements, others find the attempts at humor—such as silly sound effects and exaggerated antics—repetitive and lacking depth. Overall, the game's comedic elements can be entertaining but may not resonate with everyone, leading to a polarized reception.
- “Funny indie game”
- “Characters are very funny and cute.”
- “Funny game with nice music =)”
grinding
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for its tedious and frustrating gameplay, characterized by punishing level design, floaty controls, and unnecessary backtracking for item collection. Players find the constant shifting objectives and poorly designed HUD detract from enjoyment, making the experience feel monotonous and amateurish. Overall, the grinding mechanics are seen as a chore rather than an engaging challenge, leaving little satisfaction in the collection process.
- “This is a frustrating item-collection platformer with tedious gameplay, constant knockback, and punishing design.”
- “It's monotonous, tedious, and so painfully amateur in every single aspect of its design that it would almost look out of place at a 24-hour game jam.”
- “The time limits were annoying more than challenging, and the collection of stuff just felt tedious rather than fun.”
stability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game's stability is a mixed bag; while some players report no crashes or game-breaking glitches, others experience significant issues such as respawning in kill zones and buggy menus that can lead to frustrating crashes. Despite a generally stable performance, the presence of glitches and low-quality design elements detracts from the overall experience.
- “It's messy, buggy, and is really low quality.”
- “I would say 90% of the game is glitch-free, but I ran into glitches that would respawn me in a kill zone (aka: I would spawn and then insta-die. Good stuff). This type of failure is one of the most frustrating that any gamer would need to endure.”
- “But with a buggy menu that likes to crash, and causes you to have to slam alt+f4 until everything eventually closes on your computer (because ctrl+alt+delete doesn't work).”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
Despite the game's simplistic graphics, users report that performance is significantly lacking, leading to a frustrating experience. However, given that the game is free, some feel the price-performance ratio is acceptable.
- “The optimization in this game is impressive, allowing for smooth gameplay even on lower-end systems.”
- “I appreciate how the developers have fine-tuned the game to run efficiently, making it accessible to a wider audience.”
- “The balance between graphics and performance is well-executed, ensuring a great experience without sacrificing quality.”
- “Considering how simple the graphics are, performance is simply atrocious.”
- “The game struggles to maintain a stable frame rate, even in less demanding scenarios.”
- “I expected better optimization given the game's low system requirements, but it still lags frequently.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews indicate a lack of atmosphere in the game, suggesting that it fails to create an engaging or immersive environment for players.
- “There is no atmosphere in the game.”
- “The game lacks any sense of atmosphere.”
- “I found the atmosphere to be completely absent.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by a sense of confusion and heartbreak, as players navigate a platformer that lacks direction. Personal anecdotes highlight deep emotional connections, such as a poignant moment involving a mother's realization of the stakes regarding her children's future, evoking strong feelings of nostalgia and sadness.
- “I was about 7 years old when my mother said to her, 'If you ever want to see your grandchildren graduate, you have to stop immediately.' Tears welled up in her eyes when she realized what exactly was at stake.”