N
- August 25, 2016
- Slick Entertainment
- 21h median play time
Get on Steam"N++ is a challenging sci-fi arcade platformer with masterful gameplay, stunning graphics, and sensational music. Navigate through 4,340 hand-crafted levels, avoiding enemies and collecting gold. Play solo or with a friend in local co-op, with leaderboards, replays, and a level editor for added replayability."
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
Steam Deck
Web Browser
Windows
Xbox One
Linux
Nintendo Ds
PlayStation
PSP
Xbox
Xbox 360
Reviews
- N++ is widely regarded as one of the best platformers ever made, offering a perfect blend of challenging gameplay and fluid controls.
- The game features an immense amount of content, with over 4,000 levels, including user-generated content, ensuring endless replayability.
- The minimalist design and engaging soundtrack enhance the overall experience, making it both visually appealing and enjoyable to play.
- The game lacks online multiplayer, which disappointed many fans who enjoyed the feature in previous versions.
- Some levels can feel frustratingly difficult, leading to a steep learning curve that may deter casual players.
- There are occasional bugs and issues with save files, including corruption, which can impact the overall experience.
- music309 mentions
- 58 % positive mentions
- 41 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its diverse and engaging soundtrack that complements the gameplay beautifully. While some users noted that the soundtrack can become repetitive over time, the overall consensus is that it enhances the gaming experience, creating a trance-like atmosphere that keeps players immersed. However, there are concerns about the removal of certain tracks due to licensing issues, and many players expressed a desire for the ability to purchase the soundtrack separately.
“The soundtrack is amazing and it's a shame they don't offer it as a separate DLC because I would absolutely buy it.”
“A perfectly tuned, hard-as-nails platformer, elevated by beautifully minimal visuals and a banger soundtrack.”
“The soundtrack is a huge improvement compared to the earlier titles, the ability to choose different color palettes is a nice addition, and the amount of content borders on limitless.”
“However, the only update in the past year was when the devs actually removed some content (music licenses expired), and didn't even fix a long-running issue with cloud saves.”
“The soundtrack is take it or leave it for me but the game plays extremely smooth and the multiplayer/co-op is amazing.”
“The most negative thing in n++ is music.”
- gameplay247 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The gameplay of n++ is widely praised for its refined mechanics, fluid movement, and minimalist design, making it one of the best platformers available. Players appreciate the simplicity of controls combined with a high skill ceiling, allowing for deep mastery and replayability across thousands of levels. While some find the difficulty challenging, the overall experience is described as addictive and satisfying, enhanced by a fitting soundtrack and well-crafted level design.
“One of the most refined, pure gameplay-focused platformers in existence.”
“The momentum-based movement is taken into full consideration with the level design; most levels have unique layouts that are hand-crafted to be difficult, but readily understandable.”
“The gameplay is as buttery-smooth as it’s ever been since the series’s first flash entry and Metanet Software’s minimalist yet modern aesthetic stands out in the genre.”
“Not intuitive, and not very good teaching about the game mechanics and rules of the world step by step.”
“After that, I realized that the core gameplay isn't fun to me, as I really didn't want to replay the same levels again.”
“The gameplay is not fun; there is no skill involved, all you need to beat it is patience to power through the levels that mostly consist of waiting until the enemies and/or stage hazards go away.”
- graphics180 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by a sleek, minimalist aesthetic that enhances gameplay clarity and complements its retro-inspired design. Players appreciate the crisp visuals and vibrant color schemes, which contribute to an engaging platforming experience, although some have noted occasional graphical glitches. Overall, the visuals are praised for their simplicity and effectiveness, allowing for a focus on gameplay while still providing an appealing artistic presentation.
“The graphics are minimalistic but it still looks pretty good.”
“The refined, yet simple, gameplay—combined with the minimalist visuals, incredibly intuitive level design, and all-around devotion from the developers—leaves us with a timeless game that, should you choose to take on its challenge, will never grow old.”
“Quite likely the very best platformer ever made: it features some of the most beautiful minimalist aesthetics I have ever seen, an absolutely sick soundtrack, but most importantly it has the tightest, most enjoyable gameplay of any platformer.”
“My game got corrupted, the graphics were a mess so I was forced to reinstall.”
“The graphic settings do not work on my computer; I tried every single resolution with fullscreen on/off, and the game just doesn't render correctly. I can only see the bottom right corner of the game, as if the window isn't centered correctly on my screen.”
“Strangely enough, for a game with such minimalistic graphics, it still lags quite a bit.”
- story38 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The story in N++ is minimal to non-existent, serving primarily as a backdrop to the gameplay rather than a focal point. Players note that the game emphasizes pure platforming mechanics over narrative depth, with a simplistic and almost humorous premise that doesn't detract from the overall experience. While some may find the lack of a compelling story disappointing, many appreciate the game's focus on gameplay and level design, making it a suitable choice for those who prefer action over narrative.
“With minimalistic graphics composed of clean lines and filled-in geometric shapes, and a joking spoof of a story, this is a game entirely focused on gameplay and the player experience within its levels.”
“There is barely a story, but that's okay because this game is only focused on the gameplay.”
“The game is focused on the platforming gameplay, not on the story, so that doesn't matter much.”
“There's an excuse of a story.”
“No story.”
“The design is simplistic and the story is nonexistent, because this game focuses on one thing: gameplay.”
- replayability25 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The game is widely praised for its exceptional replayability, with players highlighting features such as a vast number of levels, a level editor, and competitive leaderboards that encourage repeated play. Many reviews emphasize the game's ability to provide endless challenges, whether through perfecting runs, achieving high scores, or exploring user-generated content. Overall, it is considered a timeless platformer with nearly infinite replay value.
“Replayability is a major factor of n++ - improving your times, going for no-death runs, trying new levels, or simply going through your favorites is quite easy, and the game's clearly built to be enjoyed for quite some time.”
“An endless amount of replay value over thousands of levels, and an amazing soundtrack to go with it.”
“This game is timeless, and the presence of the level editor means that this game has a huge amount of replayability.”
“While there isn't a lot of replay value, there are more than enough levels to feel satisfied with the game.”
“The leaderboards are competitive, and add more replayability, and all gold badges add a challenge to the game.”
“Good, fun, and fast-paced game that has loads of content and replayability.”
- humor22 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its absurd and slapstick elements, particularly through the use of ragdoll physics that lead to both hilarious and frustrating moments. Players appreciate the comedic level names and the overall lightheartedness, especially when playing with friends, making it a fun and entertaining experience. The game successfully blends challenging gameplay with a humorous tone, ensuring that players often find themselves laughing at the chaos that ensues.
“First, you cannot take any damage, otherwise you die, with your ragdoll typically getting abused in ways that loop from horrifying to hilarious.”
“Dying sends your character into a dramatic funny ragdoll, that often bounces off of enemies, and blows up into physics-driven pieces from bombs.”
“The game is hilarious at times through subtle humor hidden in level names and layouts.”
- stability16 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 88 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is marked by various bugs, particularly in menus, unlocks, and the level editor, which can detract from the experience. While some players report smooth performance at 60 fps, the presence of graphical glitches and buggy achievements has led to mixed feelings about the game's reliability. Despite these issues, many still find the gameplay enjoyable and engaging.
“This game runs great at 60 fps on my old laptop with an AMD A6-6310 and integrated graphics.”
“It runs smoothly and includes all the features you know and love.”
“This game is buggy and unrewarding.”
“You can tell this also because the game has many known unlock bugs and is buggy as hell.”
“However, I was disappointed at how buggy the game was on release, so I wrote a negative review explaining the problems that existed.”
- optimization12 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has received positive feedback, with significant improvements over earlier versions, including enhanced I/O performance, smoother frame rates, and better controls. Players appreciate the balance between challenge and playability, noting that the game runs efficiently with minimal lag, making it enjoyable for both solo and multiplayer experiences. However, some users still express concerns about occasional optimization issues, indicating that while the game is largely well-optimized, there are areas that could benefit from further refinement.
“The I/O performance is also excellent, lacking the random frame drops of the earlier flash versions.”
“It's extremely optimized C++ code - you'll have a good time playing, and the devs would literally have to go to hell and back to fix anything.”
“Its performance is a huge improvement over the original 'n' in ways that actually matter.”
“Update 7/20/2022: I forgot how poorly optimized this game is.”
“Its performance is a huge improvement over the original in ways that actually matter.”
“Only those willing to push themselves to high peaks of performance will excel here.”
- grinding11 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 9 % neutral mentions
- 91 % negative mentions
Reviews highlight a mixed experience with grinding in the game; while some players enjoy the co-op levels and find the gameplay solid, others criticize certain levels as tedious and frustrating, particularly those focused on gold collection. The vast number of levels offers variety, but the difficulty spikes can lead to irritation and burnout, with some players feeling that the grind detracts from overall enjoyment.
“On many levels, the path to getting these is the most tedious and unrewarding way to play.”
“The biggest one is the many levels that contain gold-grinding.”
“Some of the levels become tedious and irritating when there are large chunks of gold just dumped out of the way or put somewhere obnoxious; not all of the 1075 solo levels can be gems.”
- atmosphere9 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of N++ is characterized by its minimalist design and a cohesive blend of ambient IDM music that enhances the gameplay experience without being distracting. Reviewers praise the game's beautiful graphics, well-designed UI, and the way all elements—movement, music, and visuals—harmoniously contribute to a challenging yet immersive environment. While some players note that there are more casual alternatives with richer atmospheres, N++ stands out for its precision-based platforming set against a strikingly simple aesthetic.
“The minimalist atmosphere and hefty content of N++ makes it the ultimate 2D arcade momentum-based platformer to date.”
“Fun platformer with a great minimalistic atmosphere which is enhanced by the electronic IDM music that is playing.”
“The soundtrack is an assortment of ambient IDM-style tracks which all manage to give the game atmosphere while not being distracting at the same time.”
“Cyberninga inception atmosphere for nearly ten (million) years now”
“Same controls, same atmosphere, and same butt-clenching stress as before.”
- emotional7 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players report that the game evokes a strong emotional response, particularly during challenging moments, such as tackling difficult levels. The combination of engaging gameplay and the frustration caused by bugs can lead to significant emotional turmoil, highlighting the game's ability to connect with players on a deeper level. The precise movement physics further enhance this emotional experience, making players feel intimately connected to their character's journey.
“Heck, I'm tackling the hardest challenge in the game right now, which seasoned players will know simply as 'eeny.' The grind has been an emotional experience, so I figured now would be a great time to revisit my thoughts.”
“You don't need to read all of this; I wrote it after 100% completing the game when I was still very emotionally vulnerable (and hormonally everywhere, as growing up will do to you).”
“The emotional turmoil I experienced after that was unprecedented.”
