Ikeda: The Scrap Hunter E.P.

About

"Ikeda - The Scrap Hunter E.P." is a stage-based action platformer, reminiscent of Meatboy, Celeste, and Megaman, challenging players to navigate narrow saw blade corridors and collect scrap. The game takes approximately 45 minutes to complete for pros, but collecting all scrap may take up to 6 hours. This is the debut game from a solo indie developer, with additional artwork and ebooks available on the developer's website.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

78%

Audience ScoreBased on 69 reviews

music4 positive mentions

The game features great visuals and art design, reminiscent of classic platformers, which adds to its nostalgic appeal.
It offers a fun and challenging gameplay experience, with tight controls that make platforming enjoyable.
As a free game, it provides good value, allowing players to experience a well-crafted indie project without any cost.

The game suffers from mid-game crashes that can erase progress, leading to frustration for players.
There is a lack of depth in gameplay and level design, making it feel repetitive and unpolished over time.
Controls can be problematic, with some players reporting issues that detract from the overall experience.

gameplay
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
67%
17%
The gameplay is straightforward and easy to understand, featuring simple and intuitive mechanics that some players find addictive, yet ultimately repetitive and generic. While the visuals and level design receive praise, the lack of depth and engaging narrative leads to a feeling of monotony over time. Overall, the game offers a basic experience that may not sustain long-term interest.
- “It's a rather straightforward game, so there will be no difficulties in understanding the gameplay and controls.”
- “The mechanics are simple and intuitive.”
- “Gameplay is super simple, but highly addictive, and deceptively challenging.”
- “The frequency of name drops and references to past events indicates there’s some world-building going on, but hardly any of it is visible in the actual gameplay.”
- “Whatever effort is put into the narrative and setting falls away almost immediately, leaving you with the gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is generic, very repetitive.”
music
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
50%
21%
The music aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many users noting the absence of a consistent soundtrack and only minimal sound effects that are poorly mixed. While some players appreciate the immersive quality of the music when present, it is often described as repetitive or lacking, with only the final level featuring background music. Overall, the sound design is seen as a weak point, detracting from the game's overall polish and experience.
- “Music, secondarily, is also great and promotes immersion.”
- “The art style is fun and music is great.”
- “Free to play, fun, tight controls, beautiful art and music, immersive world that gets the imagination running wild.”
- “The sound effects are all poorly mixed stock files; there’s no music, and eventually you’ll start to notice the collisions and hit detection looking like a slapdash GameMaker project.”
- “It currently doesn't have music.”
- “Only the final level had background music.”
graphics
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
29%
21%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their clean visuals and artistic style, effectively conveying an atmospheric blend of old factory and cyberpunk elements. While the artwork is appreciated and enhances the overall experience, some players feel that the visuals alone cannot compensate for a lack of engaging gameplay, leading to a somewhat bland experience.
- “The game's artwork is very good, and I respect the way it conveys the atmosphere of an old factory with some light 'cyberpunk' aspects.”
- “The game has fantastic visuals.”
- “Love the art style, definitely a universe you want to explore more.”
- “But visuals alone aren't enough to keep the player interested and result in an overall bland experience akin to some flash games.”
- “Feels like NES gaming with updated graphics, but it got tiring.”
- “Visuals quite clear.”
story
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
45%
27%
The game's story is generally viewed as minimal and primarily serves to support the gameplay rather than stand out on its own. While some players appreciate the interesting characters and concepts, many feel that the narrative lacks depth and polish, with a cliffhanger ending that leaves room for potential continuation. Overall, the focus remains more on gameplay than on storytelling.
- “The storyline so far is interesting and features very cool characters.”
- “This is a brutal platformer with solid controls and concise economic storytelling.”
- “Also, the game kind of ends on a small cliffhanger as the protagonists leave the planet, so it'd be cool if the story continued, as Trent is a pretty good storyteller.”
- “Even if the writing was good, which it isn't, I'm not here for a story but for gameplay.”
- “The story is close to non-existent and is there in a quantity just enough to serve the gameplay.”
- “You can tell it's difficult and it is pleasing to the eye; it has the makings of a good platformer, but I don't have much hope for the story though.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
33%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its impressive artwork that effectively captures the essence of an old factory infused with cyberpunk elements. Players find the environment both beautiful and immersive, enhancing the experience of the skill-based platforming gameplay.
- “The game's artwork is very good, and I respect the way it conveys the atmosphere of an old factory with some light cyberpunk aspects.”
- “Ikeda is a tricky but rewarding skill-based platform game that is rich in atmosphere and beautiful to look at.”
- “Nice and atmospheric, with some tricky platforming.”
- “The game's artwork is very good, and I respect the way it conveys the atmosphere of an old factory with some light 'cyberpunk' aspects.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the humor in the game, noting that it keeps them entertained even during challenging moments. The comedic elements enhance the overall experience, making the gameplay enjoyable despite occasional frustrations.
- “I got stuck a couple of times, but I never stopped laughing and having fun while trying to figure out the next level as the obstacles became more complicated.”