Bonkers in the Sewers

By: fuzz

On: January 9th, 2010

This article was written at around two in the morning, hence the strange sentiments expressed within.

Bonkers in the Sewers, by Lazrael, is a game about uncertainty. This isn’t explicitly stated anywhere, as it might be were it by a more self-consciously artistic developer, but it’s integral to the design of the game. This uncertainty is presented initially in the form of various jars strewn about the levels of this platformer, which contain either demons or coins. The likelihood of there being a demon inside a jar, or even a cluster of demons, is much greater than that of there being a coin, yet the player will still smash the jar because it is only through smashing jars that coins can be obtained. This uncertainty is apparent also in the completely foreign nature of the monsters in the game, and their idiosyncratic patterns of movement. Facing enemies without any warning as to how they will act or even if they may damage Bonkers, the player must choose the action that is most likely to result in a beneficial result, which is generally quite difficult to judge. Lazrael is known for making extremely hard platformers, yet this one eases up on the difficulty in favour of a more meticulous and accessible design.

The world of Bonkers is full of strange and delightful monsters such as those in the screenshot above. Unlike anything you’ve ever seen before, apart from some superficial resemblance to enemies from retro games, the creatures living in the sewers of the game are wonderfully well-crafted and exhibit Lazrael’s unique style. The small details of the world are what really make the art stand out: the cracks in the jars, the curlicues on the noses of the flying heads, the smiling mouths of the blue demons. All of these aspects work together to form an original vision of an insane underground world.

There are a few generic sound effects, but no music, which means that most of the time your ears will be flooded with the sound of fireballs being shot into the air. Seeing as this is only an early demo, this may be changed at some point in the future, which would make it much more enjoyable to play through some of the more difficult sections. Phlogiston has volunteered to work on a couple of tracks for the game, and his work is often quite brilliant. Music is hardly necessary, though, because the player’s focus is usually not on the sound but on the action taking place.

Bonkers in the Sewers is well worth playing, even if you don’t particularly like platformers. If you’ve previously been scared off by the difficulty of Lazrael’s work, Bonkers is fairly easy and, without any clear goal as of yet, roaming around the world without engaging in fights with enemies is entirely possible. Bonkers can be downloaded from The Poppenkast. If you’re having trouble downloading the file, here is a direct link.