Skip to main content

Magenta Horizon

95%Game Brain Score
music, gameplay
grinding
95% User Score Based on 228 reviews

Platforms

PCXboxWindowsPlayStation
Buy Nowfrom €8.99
Buy NowGet on Steam €8.99Buy NowGet on itch.io Store

About

"Magenta Horizon" is a challenging 2D precision platformer set in a vibrant, abstract world. Players control Maddison Baek, who uses a variety of skills and abilities to navigate treacherous environments filled with spikes, saws, and other hazards. With permadeath and randomly generated levels, each run is unique and requires quick reflexes and strategic planning to survive.

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
Magenta Horizon screenshot
Magenta Horizon screenshot
Magenta Horizon screenshot
Magenta Horizon screenshot
Magenta Horizon screenshot
Magenta Horizon screenshot
Magenta Horizon screenshot
Magenta Horizon screenshot
Skip User Reviews

95%
Audience ScoreBased on 228 reviews
music60 positive mentions
grinding3 negative mentions
  • The game features a long playtime with a ton of enemy variety and creative designs, showcasing impressive art made by a solo developer.
  • Combat and traversal mechanics are deep and engaging, allowing for fluid combos and skill expression, which can be very rewarding once mastered.
  • The game has a unique healing mechanic that encourages aggressive play, and the soundtrack is well-composed, enhancing the overall experience.
  • The story is convoluted and difficult to follow, with overly wordy dialogue that can detract from immersion.
  • Level design can feel repetitive and maze-like, with key hunting mechanics that may frustrate players, especially in a 2D action game.
  • Combat mechanics have inconsistencies, such as a poorly designed dodge system and lack of i-frames after being hit, leading to chaotic and frustrating encounters.
  • music
    96 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its beauty and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many praising its energetic and diverse soundtrack that complements the gameplay and visuals. Reviewers highlighted the impressive orchestral and prog-metal compositions, noting how the music transitions seamlessly between exploration and combat, creating an engaging atmosphere. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's emotional depth and enjoyment.

    • “The music is amazing, the art is unique, and character movement and gameplay runs as smooth as butter, so many ways to customize to fight in your style as well as having character expression while you fight.”
    • “This game is amazing and the soundtrack backing the whole show is just as good if not better.”
    • “Thankfully, Magenta Horizon's OST is really great; I love the mix of rock with classical instruments, and I especially appreciate how each stage has a calming song that transitions into the combat version when you encounter enemies, which really pumps me up.”
    • “Every time I open the game, the music and GUI work fine, but now all there is is a black screen.”
    • “Feels a bit awkward when the music does not fade in the cut scenes and just cuts off.”
    • “Level 7-2 was the worst by far, not only because it was so excruciatingly long, but this was the only level in the game, as far as I know, where I didn't like the song at all, and it made for a really painful experience for me.”
  • gameplay
    94 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of the game is characterized by a mix of deep combat and traversal mechanics, offering both complexity and customization options for players. However, it suffers from inconsistent design choices, such as a lack of standard mechanics like blocking and parrying, leading to repetitive combat experiences. While the game encourages an aggressive playstyle and features a unique healing mechanic, it also presents challenges with enemy design that can disrupt the flow of gameplay, making it a polarizing experience for players.

    • “An absolutely fantastic, but also super brutal stylish action game, where the game absolutely forces you to be stylish (learn and execute the mechanics) or you die.”
    • “The vibrant visuals, reminiscent of a living fantasy painting, combine with fluid, fast-paced gameplay for a rewarding experience.”
    • “The game incentivizes an aggressive playstyle with its gameplay systems, and lends itself to you having the power to control an entire room of differing enemies that all relentlessly go for you.”
    • “As for the game mechanics, there's a lot of poor and inconsistent design decisions.”
    • “The game isn't bad, just is repetitive, missing multiple necessary mechanics, with a half-assed dodge system, the worst healing system I've ever seen, way too many enemies on screen, and other bad design decisions like being juggled on almost every hit.”
    • “This takes away most of the fighting mechanics because every 1-2 seconds you're being attacked so you have to jump and dash and just spam an attack over and over while jumping.”
  • graphics
    56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's graphics are characterized by a vibrant and unique art style that blends colorful, hand-painted visuals with expressive enemy designs, creating an engaging fantasy aesthetic. While some players find certain aspects of the art style off-putting, many appreciate its originality and how it complements the fluid gameplay and dynamic soundtrack. Overall, the visuals are described as stunning and addictive, contributing significantly to the game's immersive experience.

    • “The vibrant visuals, reminiscent of a living fantasy painting, combine with fluid, fast-paced gameplay for a rewarding experience.”
    • “Absolutely stunning, colorful artwork and brilliant animations.”
    • “A lot of this is owed to the incredible visuals with a unique cacophony of color, twisted enemy designs and area backgrounds with a hand-painted flair, and of course a fantastic and incredibly unique orchestral/prog-metal soundtrack that complements this all beautifully.”
    • “I'm not a fan of some aspects of the art style.”
    • “Level visuals are a bit lacking, but everything else is amazing; combat is really fun and I'm interested in the story so far.”
    • “Graphics: retro.”
  • story
    48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it nonsensical and overly wordy, leading to disengagement, while others praise its depth, character focus, and emotional moments. Many appreciate the engaging lore and character interactions, particularly highlighting the protagonist Gretel and the game's humor. Overall, while the narrative may not be the primary draw, it complements the gameplay and artistic direction, making it a noteworthy aspect of the experience.

    • “The story is surprisingly deep, very character focused but with its twists and emotional moments.”
    • “Its music, art, and story are playful yet poignant, with recurring leitmotifs adding an emotional and thematic punch often missing in the genre.”
    • “Most surprisingly to me, though, is how good the story is, far beyond what I expected.”
    • “First off, the story was pretty nonsensical and I couldn't follow it. It was just a bunch of still panels of long dialogue droning on with different names and overly wordy dialogue. Between that and the in-game chatting with all these different characters, I found myself tuning out pretty early on.”
    • “That said, I wouldn't recommend buying the game only for the story, as most of the time the game is just pure combat with some platforming and exploration.”
    • “The story itself also takes a while to get going.”
  • humor
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is characterized by its quirky and absurd elements, such as comical enemies like helicopter foes that add a humorous twist to the combat mechanics. Players appreciate the lighthearted tone and find enjoyment in the whimsical character designs and interactions, particularly with the amusing bird protagonist. Overall, the humor effectively complements the game's chaotic and entertaining atmosphere.

    • “I played this game during an earlier alpha and I can say the humor and combat sold me after I got past the first level.”
    • “I like playing as the funny bird and making her hit the bad men till they fall over, pretty good!”
    • “This is a funny 2D action platformer in a crazy world with crazily designed enemies.”
  • replayability
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers significant replayability through its lengthy content, extra modes, and ranking system that encourages players to improve their performance. With challenging platforming and deep combat mechanics, it is highly recommended for action enthusiasts seeking a game that provides both depth and replay value.

    • “At the end of each stage, players are given a rank based on time, deaths, and combos, offering a replayable challenge to improve performance.”
    • “For fans of challenging platformers with deep combat mechanics and exploration elements, Magenta Horizon promises both depth and replayability, making it a must-play for action enthusiasts.”
    • “It's incredible, lengthy, with extra modes and replayability; there's no way I couldn't recommend it, totally worth checking out.”
  • optimization
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The optimization in "Magenta Horizon" is highly praised, with players noting an impressive potential for mastery and a virtually infinite skill ceiling. The ranking system at the end of each stage encourages replayability and performance improvement, making it enjoyable for both hardcore and casual players alike.

    • “At the end of each stage, players are given a rank based on time, deaths, and combos, offering a replayable challenge to improve performance.”
    • “The potential for optimization and mastery here is insane and the skill ceiling feels practically infinite, but even for a casual player (i.e. me) you should still have a really good time with Magenta Horizon if you buy into the gameplay it's going for.”
  • emotional
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game features a surprisingly deep and character-driven story, enriched by emotional twists and moments. Its playful yet poignant music and art, along with recurring leitmotifs, enhance the emotional depth, providing a thematic resonance often lacking in similar titles.

    • “The story is surprisingly deep, very character-focused, with its twists and emotional moments.”
    • “Its music, art, and story are playful yet poignant, with recurring leitmotifs adding an emotional and thematic punch often missing in the genre.”
  • atmosphere
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is consistently praised for its stylish presentation and strong identity, contributing to an immersive and engaging experience.

    • “An incredible stylish action game with a strong identity and atmosphere.”
  • grinding
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly due to the overwhelming nature of enemies like Slashpluckers and dealer automatons, which can prolong encounters unnecessarily. The gembusters also contribute to this frustration, often requiring drawn-out one-on-one battles that detract from the overall experience.

    • “Grinding in this game feels tedious, especially when dealing with enemies like Slashpluckers and dealer automatons. Their overwhelming attacks and excessive health make encounters drag on longer than necessary.”
    • “The grinding aspect is frustrating, particularly with gembusters that seem to last until the end of every fight, forcing players into tedious 1v1 battles that feel more like a chore than a challenge.”
    • “Facing enemies like Slashpluckers and dealer automatons during grinding sessions can be exhausting. Their relentless attacks and high health make the experience feel more like a grind than an enjoyable gameplay loop.”
  • stability
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game demonstrates excellent stability, particularly on the Steam Deck, where users report smooth performance without issues.

    • “Runs great on Steam Deck as well.”
  • character development
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Gretel's character development is highly praised for her engaging role in the story, appealing design, and memorable one-liners that enhance the gameplay experience.

    • “I really like Gretel's role in the story; she has a really cool character design, and I enjoy her one-liners throughout the stages.”
Skip Game Offers

Buy Magenta Horizon

4h Median play time
4h Average play time
4-4h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs
Skip Videos

Videos

Skip Games Like Magenta Horizon

Games Like Magenta Horizon

Vernal Edge Image
81%427reviews

Vernal Edge

2023Platformer
Nintendo SwitchXbox Series X|SPC+6
Slave Zero X Image
This game contains adult content
75%521reviews

Slave Zero X

2024Arcade Hack and Slash
Nintendo SwitchXbox Series X|SPC+6
The Last Faith Image
This game contains adult content
79%2.8kreviews

The Last Faith

2023Hack and Slash
Nintendo SwitchXbox Series X|SPC+7
Nine Sols Image
92%17.9kreviews

Nine Sols

2024Hack and Slash
Nintendo SwitchPlaystation 5Playstation 4+11
Soulstice Image
This game contains adult content
72%1.1kreviews

Soulstice

2022Hack and Slash
Xbox Series X|SPCPlaystation 5+4
Skip Game News