REVIEW : JankBrain (PC)
In JankBrain from Log Games is a 2D action platformer inspired by old-school run ‘n gun games. If the developer’s name rings a bell, it’s because a handful of years ago, I got a chance to review Epic Dumpster Bear from them on the Wii U. This time around, instead of playing as a bear, you’ll be playing as an individual who is part of a very smart race with huge brains – which is why everyone looks like a brain with arms and legs. He sets out to conquer Earth by collecting all of its gold to control its economy.
You’ll control your character with the left analogue stick or the D-Pad, jumping and double jumping with the X button. There’s also the option of finding a jetpack to be able to fly during some stages, which certainly changes things up. You can shoot a laser with the Square button and can find a power-up that will boost this attack’s power and effectiveness. This laser can be used to destroy any wooden boxes in your path or to attack the many enemies you’ll face during your run for the gold.
Each stage features a stack of gold bars for you to collect at the end, which means there are 55 stacks of gold bars for you to obtain. On top of this, each level has some silver bars to grab along the way, for a total of 150 silver bars between all stages. Levels will also have brain vitamins to collect, which act as the in-game currency, which you’ll be able to use to buy your way into bonus levels. Oh, and for each of the 55 levels that JankBrain has to offer, you can also get a bronze, silver, or gold medal for each level if you’re fast enough at completing them.
Speaking of speedrunning the game, thanks to a recent patch for JankBrain on PlayStation 4, you can now use a Brain Boost special ability by pressing the Triangle button, which can make it easier to cut some valuable seconds from your overall time by strategically boosting your movement speed at the right time. This ability will recharge when you collect vitamin pills, so be sure to keep an eye on the lightning bolts on the upper left part of the screen! The patch also updates the game to include a Blast Mode option which features it’s own separate save file. For Blast Mode, you’ll be using the Brain Blast power-up in remixed stages with 21 stacks of gold bars to collect.
On top of the regular stages during which you’ll be running, shooting, and jumping all over the place, there will also be bosses for you to fight against. You’ll know you’re in a boss battle because you’ll be fighting against an enemy that is larger than the rest of the opponents you’ll fight, as well as from the counter on the upper-right corner of the screen that will show you how many lives the boss has left, by way of a handy skull counter. Every shot you land will lower the overall count, and once it hits zero, you’ll be victorious.
JankBrain includes a full trophy list with a Platinum trophy for you to add to your collection. The objectives to complete include earning at least a silver medal on 40 levels, completing all levels that you unlock with vitamins, and collecting all silver bars in said levels, getting at least a silver medal on three of the cart levels – can’t have a 2D action platformer without a cart level, right? -, finding all secret exits on every stage that lead to the extra hidden levels and defeating each of the bosses in the game, to name some examples.
