Decline’s Drops Review for Xbox Series X/S

Decline’s Drops review for Xbox Series X/S

On the whole, I think 2D platformers are probably my favorite type of video games. I sunk about 150 hours into Hollow Knight Silksong between last September and December, and only stopped because it was starting to literally physically hurt my hands to play so much (I don’t know what kind of endorsement that is). Ditto for Ori and the Blind Forest and its sequel Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Celeste, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, and all of the Super Mario Bros 2D games.

Anyone with even a passing familiarity with the above games will feel right at home with Decline’s Drops, a charming yet deceptively challenging one-man labor of love by Marc Chartron and his single-person studio Moulin aux Bulles. The controls and the mechanics are instantly familiar: you run, jump, punch, smash, and dodge your way through increasingly challenging platforming puzzles, all the while fighting enemies that range from iridescent chickens with boxing gloves to sentient piles of garbage that spew trash at you.

Have I hooked you yet?

Decline’s Drops tells the story of a great evil called the Decline, which descended from the sky in the form of a giant thunder cloud, then reformed into a six-headed Hydra which terrorized and devastated the land. The initial player character, a sentient wooden puppet named Globule fitted with blue boxing gloves and a fetching hat, is on a quest to take on the Decline and put an end to the chaos and destruction. While the inciting incident – something evil has fallen upon the land and you have to put a stop to it – is pretty standard for these kinds of games, the premise of controlling a sentient puppet who punches her way through enemies with boxing gloves is charming and wholly original.

All of the art in the game is handmade by Marc Chartron, and it’s absolutely stunning. In the first world alone, you encounter cotton-candy-colored fields, jewel-toned underground caverns, huge vines bearing enormous bouncy tomatoes as large as you, mushrooms that bloom into huge climbable toadstools, and much more. The second world takes on a decidedly environmentalist angle, with hazards in the form of belching petroleum waterfalls and clouds of oil spilling from burst undersea pipes.

There’s a gentle learning curve with Decline’s Drops – you start in a tutorial area where you learn to run, jump, dash, and punch, and then the difficulty of the levels starts to slowly ramp up. You face off against a colorful (literally) variety of enemies, including pint-sized

dragons, hopping lizards, belching toads, and bright purple eels that dive into the ground and then pop up to attack. By the time you face the first major boss, a psychotic construction foreman named Ravage who tries to run you over with a giant bulldozer, you’re more than equipped to take him on.

Save points are plentiful, in the form of floating golden sprites that spring out of huge flowers, and you can collect honeycombs that heal you along the way. Defeating Ravage also unlocks a shop where you can buy upgrade items using in-game currency. All the while, a beautiful score composed by ModalModule plays in the background, full of gentle piano and French-inspired acoustic guitar.

I do have a couple small issues, but they’re really just nitpicks. There’s no in-game map – or if there is, I haven’t found it yet after several hours of playing – which can make navigating or retracing your steps somewhat of a challenge. There are also limited explanations for more complex combo moves and mechanics, which are required to solve some of the puzzles and involve a lot of trial and error. And if you’re looking for a Hollow Knight or Celeste-length game, you may be disappointed – the developers promise a 7-hour playthrough to complete the main story, which stretches to 10 hours for 100% completion.

But none of those things should deter you from checking out this game. If you’re a fan of mid-level-challenging 2D platformers and looking for something totally original and beautifully handcrafted, I can’t recommend Decline’s Drops enough.

Score: 9.5/10

For more information, visit HERE

Ian Robinson-Lambert

+ posts

I've loved video games ever since I started playing Mario Kart on my parents' Wii back in seventh grade. These days, you can find me playing a mix of historical RPGs and horror (shout-out to Assassin's Creed and Resident Evil). I also love a good puzzle, and of course I still have a soft spot for the Super Mario series!