My life has changed in two distinct and significant ways since I began playing Electronic Super Joy. Firstly, believe it or not, I’ve actually managed to tame my temper – purely out of necessity, of course. And secondly, I’ve become profoundly aware of wasted time, probably as collateral for the gross amount of in-game lives I’ve lost. Bearing in mind these two recent developments, I’m sure you’ll forgive me when I skip my usual ranting introduction and cut straight to the chase.
Electronic Super Joy treads the line between frustrating-difficulty and addictive-fun better than any game I’d played before. However, the Hot Sticky Mess DLC doesn’t quite cut the same path. Sure it was still good, but it didn’t quite hold up to the excellence of the original release. In most of the Mess levels I had to force myself to keep playing, which isn’t something I was used to with Super Joy. This time round, it felt like the developers pushed the difficulty just a bit too far. Winning wasn’t so much a product of perseverance as it was memorising the level. One specific example is in the “Black ‘n’ White Mess” level, where at the best of times you can only see half of the screen. Now, dodging a million missiles is a fair assessment of skill, but dodging holes you didn’t know existed is another ball game entirely, one that elicited from me a sigh of apathy rather than that feeling of fun-filled frustration I’d grown to love.
Sure, the DLC had its highlights, but it had low points too, which again was a new addition to the Electronic Super Joy experience. Before, even the hardest levels were enjoyable steps on a journey, while in the Hot Sticky Mess DLC, they just felt felt like hurdles blocking the way. In particular the “Laser Danger Mess” and “Black ‘n’ White Mess” levels lacked the charm and addictiveness that typically characterise the game. On the other hand, the indestructible rockets and spike-cube-things were welcome additions. And the “Big Smashy Mess” level was a specific highlight. Sadly, the rest of the levels weren’t of the same calibre.
Of course, the design of even the worst levels is still fantastic, and the music is as good as ever. And, if I’m being totally honest, I think the DLC is even funnier than the original game: the puns from the signs were a major highlight. But Electronic Super Joy, as a game, rests upon its ability to tread the line between fun and humiliation. And it doesn’t do that as well this time through. I did approach the DLC with the highest possible expectations, and I appreciate that this has probably had a certain bearing on my verdict.
On the whole, the DLC is fine; it’s good, maybe even great. But the thing is that Electronic Super Joy was more than great, it was exceptional. I will still recommend “Hot Sticky Mess” because it is fun, it’s just not as fun as the original game. But I think that if you approach it with lesser expectations you’ll enjoy it more.
See, The Hot Sticky Mess DLC had massive shoes to fill, and it was just a size too short.
Related: Electronic Super Joy Review
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