TEN Review for Xbox

TEN, by developer The Bworg and publisher Ratalaika Games, is a fast-paced 2-D platformer where players need to navigate through increasingly more difficult stages. You Naruto run and jump in ten rooms for ten seconds each, but you will likely die dozens of times before clearing an entire floor. I honestly think it is worth a challenge, if you are looking for a way to spend an afternoon. The first floor took me about 20 minutes to learn and pass. 

There is nothing so deep about this game, but the beginning does indicate that you are going to break the cycle of a never-ending dungeon crawl. The game succeeds in its stage design, introducing you to new concepts as you progress. Remember there is not a whole lot for you to do: you run and time your jumps. However, there are a lot of ways to die. You have a tally of 3 hearts to buffer you from starting over at the beginning of the floor. On an occasion, you can eat a pizza to restore your hit points. 

The tutorial gets you in the know fairly quickly. Orange and red sprites are going to hurt you. Yellow coins are collectable, and I believe that they afford you extra lives because you lose some each time you are terminated. Blue tiles disappear after you step on them. Purple bombs will detonate after 10 seconds if you fail to disarm them; you need to get all of them. Failure to touch all purple bombs will result in immediate death. 

You get a mix of turrets, mobs, and buzz saws trying to eliminate you. You learn after some beatings how to deal with the situations, and you find yourself learning how to get past the impossible stages. A lot of it is timing. By the time you reach the last room, you will encounter the floor boss. The Meat Grinder was the first-floor boss, and it is a mean bot that drops loads on top of you. All the while you need to dodge a saw. This lasts for 30 seconds, rather than 10. 

Overall, TEN is an intensive platformer. You may find yourself throwing the controller on the ground after your tenth death. It feels rewarding to get past annoying stages after so many jump scares, hanging on to that last heart. As fun as learning how to beat the game is, the replayability is lacking. I think a fair rating for this title is an 8.5 out of 10. TEN is a great arcade platformer. It was hard for me to find the game on the Xbox Games page, so I will link it HERE

For more information, visit: https://www.ratalaikagames.com/games.php?id=ten

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John Pruitt

I like to think of myself as the average Joe who grew up alongside video games. I have fun playing strategy games, RPGs, shooters, sandboxes, the whole shebang! Every game provides an experience whether it strikes you as profound, mundane, or someplace in between. I’d like to weigh in my two cents before you spend a single penny.

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