Midnight Deluxe

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Title:  Midnight Deluxe
Developer:  Petite Games
Publisher:  Ratalaika Games
Website: http://thepetitegames.com
Genre:  Puzzle
Platform:  Playstation 4, PS Vita, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One (Reviewed)
Audience:  All ages
Release Date:  Out Now
Price:  £4.99 – Rapid Reviews UK was kindly provided a review copy of this game.

Introduction

Originally released back in 2015, Midnight is back on all major consoles and this time it has gone Deluxe. Midnight Deluxe is an Angry Birds style puzzle game where the object is super simple – navigate your square-shaped fairy through the perpetual darkness to the safe zone. With 70 levels filled with spikes, circular saws and more, can you navigate your light fairy to safety?

Looks & Sounds

The best thing about Midnight Deluxe is that it’s a very gorgeous looking game. Petite Games have taken this ‘perpetual darkness’ setting and created 70 stunning levels. The dark and muted colours really work for the concept of the game, your character is like the light in the darkness. The backgrounds to each level are all quite similar but if it ain’t broke, why change it? The trees swaying slightly, the faint light from the crescent moon couples with the relaxing soundtrack – it gives a very melancholic and chilled vibe to the game. It’s just unfortunate that the gameplay doesn’t match this energy.

The soundtrack is also a great part of Midnight Deluxe. The piano soundtrack is incredibly beautiful and soothing. The soundtrack really does a fantastic job of complementing the visuals of the game. It’s just unfortunate that the gameplay is likely to put you into a rage when you misfire.

Gameplay & Replayability

If you’ve played a game like Angry Birds then you’re going to understand the gameplay mechanics of Midnight Deluxe right away. You control the little box of light, using the control stick to aim where you want to throw your character. The aim is to get your character into the safe zone which is a narrow area of light on the other side of the stage.

You can take as long as you like, as many shots as you want but the more shots you take will affect your ranking at the end of each level. Sounds simple enough but it’s actually quite difficult to get a proper perception of where you are aiming for. When you are aiming, you do get a little stream of light that shows you a general direction of travel but in most instances, I would completely miss where I was aiming for. Even the simplest of throws can be fluffed and it makes Midnight Deluxe a much more frustrating experience than it’s supposed to be.

The first set of levels are all relatively simple but the difficulty does ramp up quite quickly.  Many of the challenges that you will face throughout the 70 levels include spikes, circular saws and various enemies dotted around each stage.  Progress even further and you’ll soon be taking on mountains and intricate mazes.  As the difficulty increases, the gameplay can quickly become more frustrating than enjoyable.  I had to restart a lot of the levels over and over again as I was just unable to get my character where I needed to be.  I feel like that this game would be better suited to touch-based controls as it could give you better control over your character.

Conclusion

Midnight Deluxe is a cute but ultimately flawed game. The game is so incredibly pretty, the visual are just on point and coupled with the brilliant soundtrack, it ticks all the boxes for a great relaxing game. But unfortunately, the gameplay just doesn’t sync with this at all. You are more likely to feel annoyed than relaxed while playing Midnight Deluxe. Perhaps with touch controls, Midnight Deluxe could be better.

Rapid Reviews UK Rating

You can purchase this title at the Microsoft Store by using the following link, https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/p/midnight-deluxe/9n8lqf49147h?activetab=pivot:overviewtab