Lovish

Lovish is a celebration of old-school Nintendo in a platformer that, despite its clearly retro inspirations, manages to feel fresh and rewarding.

88%Game Brain Score

humor, gameplay

story, grinding

90% User Score Based on 69 reviews

Critic Score 85%Based on 4 reviews

Platforms

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About

Lovish is a single player casual platformer game with comedy and anime themes. It was developed by DANGEN Entertainment and was released on February 5, 2026. It received positive reviews from both critics and players.

Lovish is an outrageous 8-bit action-adventure game! Quest with Sir Solomon through a series of bite-sized rooms, as he attempts to free Princess Tsuna, the woman he loves, from the Devil Lord's clutches!

+14

Skip User Reviews

90%

Audience ScoreBased on 69 reviews

humor24 positive mentions

grinding7 negative mentions

Charming and humorous retro-style pixel art platformer with an energetic soundtrack.
Short, bite-sized levels filled with secrets, collectibles, and randomized post-level events that add variety and replay value.
Tight controls and accessible difficulty curve offer both casual playthrough and challenging crown hunting for completionists.

Repetitive gameplay loop with some levels feeling uninspired; secret crown hunts can be tedious and involve excessive grinding.
Randomness in post-level events makes 100% completion frustrating due to rare and unpredictable encounters.
Minor technical issues including inconsistent hitboxes, collision detection quirks, minor glitches, lack of pause function, and occasional stuttering.

humor
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is widely praised for its quirky, wry, and lighthearted tone, featuring funny cutscenes and random events that complement the challenging platforming. While the humor is charming and clever, some users note that repeated jokes and events can become stale over time. Overall, the playful, goofy writing and animated cutscenes significantly enhance the game's fun and engaging atmosphere.
- “An energetic love-quest, built out of pocket dungeons and wry humor.”
- “The tongue-in-cheek humor goes a long way to easing the tough platforming.”
- “What really makes it great is the sense of humor-- the intro has our 'hero' betraying the rest of his adventuring party in the hopes of being the one to win the captured princess's affections by being the sole person to rescue her.”
gameplay
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
57%
14%
The gameplay is generally simple and straightforward, featuring a tight, fun action platformer loop with creative level design and a range of secrets and unlockables to keep players engaged. While some find it lacking in variety and depth, especially in enemy types and mechanics, others appreciate the humor, retro style, and optional challenges like the crown system for added difficulty. Minor issues like brief loading times and occasional repetitive elements slightly impact the overall flow.
- “Super cute and fun little action platformer with creative level design, a nice simple gameplay loop, and some nice light-hearted humor.”
- “Aside from hardcore completionists like myself reaching that final cutscene, the after-level scenes are hilarious and varied, genuinely a really smart way to keep the gameplay loop feeling different.”
- “While it's no Astalon, I appreciate that it's relatively easy for someone who just wants to get to an ending, while for players like me who want a more difficult and intrinsically rewarding experience there is the crown system which really forces you to understand the later maps and varies the gameplay.”
- “Can be a little bit too simple since there isn't a lot of variety in terms of gameplay.”
- “The bad: lackluster gameplay.”
- “There are no fun gimmicks, no new game mechanics, even the enemies are the same.”
music
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
35%
15%
The music in the game is consistently praised for its energetic, catchy 8-bit chiptune style that perfectly complements the retro pixel art and fast-paced gameplay. While some note a limited variety of tracks that loop seamlessly across levels and cutscenes, the soundtrack effectively maintains the game's lively, tongue-in-cheek atmosphere and keeps players engaged throughout. Overall, the music is considered a standout feature that enhances the nostalgic and fun experience.
- “If you like to listen to the original Mega Man soundtracks on repeat and want to listen to the best pump-up beats in an 8-bit universe, oh man are you gonna get your fill!”
- “Both the pixel art and character design were timewarped directly from the late 1980s, and Mat Kapp has a stranglehold on what makes a chiptune song proper, I haven't been able to stop humming along.”
- “This makes it a bit hard to tell if there's a specific song based on where you're at in the castle, or if it loops through certain tunes regardless of where you go, as you can rapidly move to different parts of the castle.”
- “Having put so many hours into lv, I don't think there's that many unique songs to listen to throughout all of that time.”
- “As you switch from one level to the next, dying or succeeding, and watching different cutscenes, the music is never interrupted.”
story
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The story follows Solomon on a unique quest to hypnotize others and rescue Princess Tsuna from the devil lord, blending humor with engaging character details. While the main narrative is compelling and fair in challenge, some players find the post-story grind less rewarding. There are hints of deeper secrets and additional content for completionists beyond the main story.
- “Solomon — main character — embarks on a quest to hypnotize every living being to become his friend (in the case of the princess, his lover).”
- “His main mission is to rescue Princess Tsuna from the Devil Lord.”
- “It's an interesting way to tell a story and give some more details into certain characters.”
- “It makes sense that there wasn't an additional boss phase or other challenge given the story the game was trying to tell, but that still doesn't make the grind past 150 crowns feel worth it.”
- “I finished the main story but I haven't 100% completed it; it's possible there is a secret ending after you do this.”
- “Add a collectible that's tied to secret finding and certain level clear requirements, but beyond one clear of the story, there's not much to dig into.”
graphics
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
57%
The graphics are praised for their bright, cute, and charming 8-bit-inspired art style with well-designed sprites and events. The visuals complement the game's energetic and humorous atmosphere, effectively delivering the intended aesthetic. Overall, the art direction is considered appealing and engaging.
- “The soundtrack is energetic, the graphics are bright and cute, and its attitude is constantly tongue-in-cheek.”
- “Artstyle is very cute, especially regarding the sprites of characters, monsters, etc., and of course the events, all accompanied by an extremely energetic soundtrack that keeps you going non-stop.”
- “The 8-bit inspired graphics and music is great and it's a fun concept.”
grinding
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is notably time-consuming and reliant on RNG, making the final achievements require several hours of repetitive effort. While there is ample content for completionists, the process can feel tedious and lacks enough challenge or variety to keep it engaging. Minor input issues and the need to frequently adjust settings during farming add to the frustration, though these are not game-breaking.
- “It's worth noting there's some minor input issues and if you're a completionist expect to spend some extra time grinding out RNG events for the last few achievements.”
- “And for any completionists: I happily got all achievements in Castle in the Darkness and Astalon, but I'm finishing my Lovish playthrough one achievement short, because it entails 1-4 hours of grinding random events.”
- “This is simply too grindy for a game that doesn't actually provide you with much of a challenge or interesting variety.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers high replayability through its short, one-screen levels filled with secrets and challenges, complemented by over 150 random events that trigger after each level. This structure encourages multiple playthroughs, making each level feel fresh and engaging. However, some users note the replayability is still somewhat limited compared to traditional expansive adventures.
- “Lovish really shines in its game structure: dozens of small and compact one-screen levels, with huge replayability thanks to the amount of secrets and additional challenges these offer, combined with more than 150 random events that trigger each time you beat a level, reinforcing even more said replayability.”
- “Overall, the replayability of each level is high, which is great because you end up playing them at least 3-4 times when you discover additional crowns to get.”
- “With its replayable, under a minute long levels always followed by a single random event, the flow of this game is very different from a traditional grand adventure about exploring huge maps and unlocking permanent upgrades (both Castle in the Darkness and Astalon fit squarely into the Metroidvania genre).”
- “Limited replayability.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
Users feel that the game's optimization has little impact on PC performance and criticize it for not rewarding skilled players with better performance-based incentives.
- “I don't see the point when surely it's not going to affect anyone's PC performance or anything.”
- “Performance is an issue.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game runs smoothly overall and performs well on the Steam Deck, though occasional glitches—such as drifting through floors during certain fights—can affect stability.
- “Runs great on Steam Deck.”
- “It's pretty slickly done, but there are a few glitches -- almost NES-like in nature -- that make you drift through the floor when fighting the Scorpion King, or similar things.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The character development features charming, nostalgic designs reminiscent of late 1980s pixel art, complemented by a catchy chiptune soundtrack that enhances the overall appeal.
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users found the game's emotional impact disappointing, with some feeling heartbroken and frustrated, especially due to the grind highlighted by certain cutscenes. Overall, the emotional experience did not meet expectations set by the trailers.