Momentum

Update: Hmm, which came first: this… or the suspiciously similar My First Quantum Translocator? I’m inclined to think the latter, in which case Momentum’s a bit of a slyly sudden ‘tribute’.

You like platformers with a twist. You like chubby robots with spindly little arms that wobble about a bit when they jump. You will therefore like Momentum, a short little diversion from the man behind double-cat beaut Black And White.

The twist in this platformer is that your robot can ‘store’ momentum to ‘retrieve’ later. So, first, you do a jump and press X to store the upward movement. Then, later, you can reach a high platform by using that previous momentum to boost a normal jump. Yes, it’s quite tricky to explain. And, yes, if you stuck a mighty great glowing gun in the hands of the main character, you wouldn’t be far off a 2D version of Portal. Assuming he could hold the gun with his spindly robot arms, the little cutie.

But that doesn’t prevent Momentum being an intriguing and pleasing little concept. Especially when power-up blobs start appearing to boost or reverse your movement, and cooking up the solutions requires you to turn the temperature up on your brain oven. It’s a bit rough around the edges, but consider it a taster for a (hopefully) inevitable sequel and you’ll come away happy. Play Momentum (Flash)