Game Review: Awesome Pea 3

By Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, XBox, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

It seems that a lot of precision platformers have been coming to consoles recently, and we have another one to look at today. Available now on just about every major console, Awesome Pea 3 comes to us by way of publisher Sometimes You. We're going to be taking a look at the game on the Nintendo Switch today, but I'm sure that just about all of what I'm going to say will apply to all other versions of the game. This is quite the grueling experience, so let's just skip the intros and get right into it!

Awesome Pea 3 is the final game in a trilogy of precision platformers that all share the same brutally tough gameplay. I haven't played the first two games in the series personally, but I've seen enough about them online to tell that they all play essentially the same. Even though there was apparently enough here to spawn an entire trilogy, I'd be lying if I said I had any idea what the actual "story" of the game is. I know that you play as a green glob named "Pea", and your mission is to see the other end of a set of difficult platforming challenges, but that's about it. Maybe there's a Mrs. Pea that needs to be rescued, but there is no mention of any of that in-game or elsewhere. Putting a story into a game like this would've been a nice touch, but it really isn't a necessity. Well, since I have nothing else to say regarding plot and setup, let’s get right into discussing gameplay.

Gameplay in Awesome Pea 3 is as simple as can be. You run, you jump, you dash, you wall climb, and you wall jump. Most stages will require you to combine all those actions to reach the exit of the stage, and you have to do that a total of 69 times in order to complete the game. There's a bit more to it than that of course, but pretty much covers it in a nutshell. Expanding on that a bit more, each level takes place on a single screen. There's no scrolling in any direction, so you're able to plan out all your moves before even taking the first jump. Heading to the exit as fast as possible is always the best move in any of the levels, but you actually have to grab the exit's key first. Thankfully said key is usually placed in the pathway of the exit, but sometimes it can be annoyingly placed in the furthest corner possible. Besides the exit key, you can also pick up gems. These gems only exist for score and completionist purposes, so you can avoid them if you're only interested in getting to the next stage as quickly and painlessly as possible. Spikes, enemies, and all sorts of hazards are scattered throughout each stage, and Pea only needs to take one hit before dying. Thankfully lives are infinite, and you restart nearly immediately, so you won't be out of the action for very long.

Nothing can spoil a platformer more than bad controls, and I'm pleased to report that Awesome Pea 3's controls are tight and responsive. You can nudge Pea in the smallest of movements, and you can also alter the trajectory of any jump you make. The controls make it so that very few deaths can be blamed on anything but player skill, or lack thereof. If anything, I think the controls can be a bit TOO sensitive. There were several times when I nudged Pea a fraction of an inch too much and brought about my death, and other times when the lightest of taps would send me flying across the screen. Once again, none of that was really the fault of the game itself. The only true quirk in the control scheme worth mentioning would have to be the wall climb mechanic. First off, the game does feature wall jumping that usually is used in tandem with wall climbing. Even though you'll often need to climb a bit to perform a wall jump, said wall jumping pretty much operates exactly as you'd expect it too. It's the wall jumping that requires the extra look. Even though you'll be using it a lot, I don't think Awesome Pea 3 does a good job explaining how one pulls off wall climbing. I'm not even sure it's mentioned anywhere in-game. Basically Pea has the ability to move up a wall as long as you hold the d-pad in the direction you want to go. You can even hold onto the wall for a bit to time a perfect wall jump. These actions take a bit of getting used to, but most players will have them down after only a half dozen deaths or so. Other than mastering a well-timed dash, wall climbing is the only part of the game that might throw off those new to the game. Everything else is very tough, but trial and error will get you through most stages.

Visually speaking, Awesome Pea 3 isn't a whole lot to look at. It's not a bad looking game by any means, but there isn't a lot to it. The entire game plays out one screen at a time, and that doesn't leave a lot of room for variety in level design. Admittedly the levels do change every so often, but you breeze through them so fast that you often don't notice all the things that get added or taken away as you progress in the game. There is a noteworthy level of detail that makes even the smallest game area easy to see, but that doesn't take away from the fact that Awesome Pea 3's world just feels rather flat and lifeless most of the time. Pea himself is a rather cute and likable character, but there's not much to him beyond smooth animation and an oddly squishy, very un-pea-like, body. Though the graphics won't blow anyone away, they also don't inspire any sort of complaints either.

Sound is an odd topic, as I originally thought that I would have nothing at all to say about it, then I turned the volume up. Awesome Pea 3 is a very quiet game, I turned the sound settings to the max and still had trouble hearing the game at all. I played a bit in Handheld Mode, and I honestly couldn't hear the music at all. Docked wasn't any better, but then I cranked the volume all the way up just so I could finally have something to say about the sound in this part of the review. It was then that I realized that Awesome Pea 3 has a soundtrack that's so amazing that I felt like it must be in the wrong game. I don't want to make it sound like this game doesn't deserve to have good music, but this soundtrack feels almost wasted on a game whose levels can last literal seconds. Each track is in a chiptune style, but the genres between each of them varies greatly. Some are upbeat and energetic, others are more low-key, others are downright moody and melancholic, and others still had me looking up where I can find the soundtrack. There are even some neat sound effects that round out the package perfectly. I never thought that I'd be saying that the best part about this game would be its soundtrack, but here we are.

Awesome Pea 3 isn't the longest game out there, as it only features a total of 69 levels. I don't want to make it sound like beating the game is going to be anything close to easy, as I wasn't even able to do after several hours of trying, but I bet I could if I just keep at it a bit more. That's the thing too, most of Awesome Pea 3's stages can be beat through sheer force of will. I don't meant that you'll eventually gain better skills, though that might happen too, but that you'll more than likely beat any level by sheer luck after dozens of tries. This is thanks to the quick and fast level design, but any victory in this game will always feel earned. With that in mind, the entirety of Awesome Pea 3 can probably be beaten in a handful of minutes if you have the skill to complete each level without dying. I doubt anyone exists who can complete that speedrunning feat without tossing in countless hours of training, but it's worth mentioning anyway. Most of your time in the game will be spent simply playing the same levels over and over again, but the game's current price of $4.99 eases the sting of repetition quite a bit. This is a fun game that really doesn't ask much of you besides your patience, and it does have a charm that feels far beyond its price point.

While I don't think Awesome Pea 3 is a game for everyone, I do think that it's a fun precision platformer for those looking to add another to their collection. It may not add a whole lot to the formula, but it pulls off what it does do very well. It's a must buy for fans of the genre, for speedrunners, for those looking for a tough gameplay challenge in general, and for those who've played and enjoyed the first two games in the series. I actually think that I'll be checking those games out too after I'm done with this review, since this one has me wondering if they're worth playing too. I guess I'll find that out later, but until then I guess I'll just have to see what that dreaded level 69 holds for me...

Check Out Awesome Pea 3 on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/awesome-pea-3-switch/

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Story: N/A
Gameplay: B
Graphics: B
Music/Sound: A
Value: A

Overall: B+

Pros:
+ A precision platformer that's very easy to pick up and play.
+ Wall-climbing may take a bit of getting used to, but it really opens up gameplay once mastered.
+ The game's short levels mean that a single lucky run can win the day.
+ The soundtrack honestly feels more amazing than it has any right to be.
+ There are a total of 69 levels in the game, and I'm sure someone out there will find that at least mildly amusing.

Cons:
- The game is brutally hard straight from the start.
- All levels in the game occupy a single screen, limiting the variety a bit.
- Even though you have the ability to fully control Pea's trajectory, movement can still have a floatiness to it at times.
- There's no story at all to speak of if that's what you're here for.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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