Review: Antonblast – Destructoid

2024 was another huge year for games, with enough to keep everyone occupied for the foreseeable future. Despite constant decision paralysis, though, the eight hours I spent with the deranged, demolition-happy Dynamite Anton and his coworker Annie in Antonblast were the most unabashed fun I had playing games all year.

Ever since Summitsphere’s buckwild platformer was first announced, I have been preparing myself to play the spiritual successor to some lost Wario Game Boy Advance game. I wasn’t, however, prepared to play a Sega Genesis game. That’s exactly what this is; it has a very specific, and I say this with love, funk to it that you only get from the library of Genesis or Sega CD. Perhaps, in some alternate universe, Antonblast dropped in the mid-90s on both Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo, the latter version playing a bit more brightly with some rigid edges. Mayb e with fewer belches, screams, and profanity-laden proclamations.

Our gruff title character is on a side-scrolling mission to get his coveted spirits back from Satan, who wants Anton for himself so he can become the reddest person in the world. Anton and Annie — both playable from the start — set out to stop Satan with some assistance from a beleaguered casino owner named Brulo. To do so, they’ll need to blast through 12 stages, seeking out Anton’s spirits, setting Brulo’s detonators, and getting the hell out of there before the whole damn level explodes. 

Antonblast (PC [Reviewed], Nintendo Switch)
Developer: Summitsphere
Publisher: Summitsphere
Released: December 3, 2024
MSRP: $19.99

Despite the distinct aesthetic, Antonblast wears its Wario inspirations loud and proud. Hopping on specific pads lets him leap in and out of the foreground with ease. Anton can charge in a similar manner, too, paving the way for momentum-based platforming that comes in especially handy at the end of each stage. Once Anton sets off the detonator, IT’S HAPPY HOUR, and he has a few short (but relatively generous) minutes to go back from whence he came in the most explosive way possible. These escapes are often the most challenging and thrilling sections. While Antonblast is generous with checkpoints throughout the main stages, you’ll still probably find yourself attempting some of these move-it-or-lose-it escapes multiple times before succeeding. 

Everything cribbed from the Wario Land series is amped up by an order of magnitude. And for the record, there’s always room for more like it. Bricks, dumpsters, and discarded bathtubs burst and shatter as Anton plows through them, the screen screeching to a split-second halt each time to heighten the impact. Enemies standing in your way go flying off the screen with a cartoonish whizz, one of dozens of Saturday Morning sound effects that make playing Antonblast feel like a spoonful of sugar-coated cereal shot straight to the veins. Even by the time the credits rolled, I never found myself tiring of Anton’s exuberant shouts, or the way he sounds like a bomb dropping from a B-52 whenever he does a nose dive from an improbable height. 

The stages are all spread across a small hub area, complete with shops that contain exorbitantly-priced health power-ups, some single-use items, and other superfluous knick-knacks. Anton will eventually be able to afford most of it with the way he tends to rack up casino chips along his path of destruction. All you really need is maybe a single extra heart to help deal with the damage, especially on the increasingly tough boss battles scattered through the hub. 

The bosses are truly a delight. They all have their own absurd gimmicks, and none of them feel like retreads, even when you end up squaring off against more than one jacked-up mole. It’s clear they put a ton of thought into them, from the first wrassling ring showdown to the multi-stage final battle with Satan. It’s Treasure by way of Earthworm Jim. You’ll likely die and retry a lot as you try to figure out the best strategy against each foe, but thankfully, the longer fights have checkpoints before each new form. This is one of those little slices of grace that keep Antonblast from sliding over from fun to frustrating. 

Thanks to tight controls and a move set that’s exciting to master, barreling Anton through all these challenges is an exercise in haphazard glee. There are certain areas that call for more precise platforming, but most problems can quite literally be solved by ramming your head into them repeatedly. The overwhelming visuals fit this style of play nicely. It never seems as if Antonblast is overdoing it, because nothing else would make sense. When Anton or Annie turn into a pinball or set off on a rocket swordfish — two of many stage gimmicks that refuse to wear out their welcome — the cacophony of screams and violent environmental eruptions that ensue feel right. 

All of this madness combined with a pitch-perfect soundtrack from top to bottom to make a piquant spirit that widened my eyes more than a few times. That’s ultimately what impresses me most about Antonblast. It is such a tightly-realized vision that you can’t help but appreciate and respect it. The energy levels are absolutely through the roof. There are no doubt a small handful of frustrations to be found and some of the saltier, the fully-voiced dialogue might keep you from showing it to the younger members of the family; none of that should hold you back.

Everyone should play Antonblast at least once, but good luck with that. There are still spirits to collect, and I’ll be riding this rollercoaster again in no time. Now, bring on the speedruns; this is gonna be a… I’m not gonna say it, but you get it.

^{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}