Jed

By: ithamore

On: May 5th, 2010

Jed by Jonathan Whiting (MrPiglet) is a game that was enjoyed by many in the feedback forum, and it deserves more exposure than it had received.

It is a retro platformer with “big pixels and a world flipping twist” about a robot trying to rescue 50 robot babies. However, rescuing them isn’t completely necessary for finishing a level as long as one reaches the exit door, which gives the game a veneer of ease, but that is where the simplicity ends.

After completing the 10 levels, new goal appear: a  bonus challenge level that requires near perfect timing and new unlockables for 100% completion and for clearing the game in under 7 minutes.

Gaining the unlockables, however, isn’t near as interesting as the process of obtaining them, since striving toward each goal changes the way one must play, which creates meaningful replayability. Figuring out the secrets for finding the more hidden babies among the dual lavers of the game is both frustrating (level 04) and rewarding. And since each level is so short, the time-attack doesn’t require too much memorization.

A few final notes: some might not like how floaty the robot’s jump is, but Jed’s layout was designed with its jumping style in mind; there is an in-game editor for creating levels; and the spacebar is the action key for the storybook and menus (I don’t know why there are no controls in the readme), but the robot’s controls are nicely given in-game.