Shoot for the Moon with Three Wishes in Robot Unicorn Attack!
What is the best way to chase your dreams? With the use of a mighty Robot Unicorn of course! In this endless platform game, you get to smash glass stars and collect fluttering butterfly fairies as you avoid an untimely death. With lightning quick reflexes, you may dash and jump your way to victory. Just do not zone out to the tune of Erasure's Always. Seriously, listening to it for an hour may turn you into a Robot Unicorn Zombie, you have been warned!
A Unicorn for Everyone
Considering the fact that this game originally came out in Cartoon Network's Adult Swim offerings, it is pretty much expected that the game would have a heavily mature atmosphere about it -at least in humor. And in the case of Robot Unicorn Attack, it most certainly does. The game's background music is hard to appreciate for anyone who did not live through the late 80's to the early 90's. The actual concept of a robot unicorn using boosters to blaze through an endlessly scrolling world while smashing through glass and collecting magical butterflies on the other hand is a hundred percent pure Adult Swim humor.
The Speed of Happiness
With such high speed game play, you may be glad to know that you need only concern yourself with the Z and X buttons on your keyboard. Z is basically your jump button. Double jumps are allowed and so is midair jumping after a dash. Depending on how long you hold the Z button, it may extend Robot Unicorn's leap. Of course, the main purpose of your jump button is to simply avoid squishing your Robot Unicorn into platforms. Nothing fancy there.
On the other hand, X is your dash button. To be accurate, it is your super awesome rainbow attack key. Meaning it does not only temporarily hasten the running speed of your iron steed, it also smashes glass stars out of the way for extra points. Hate those pesky rock stubs? Time your dash just right and Robot Unicorn simply glides above them. Also, used hand in hand with the jump button, pressing X helps you get more air time.
Want to see your Robot Unicorn fly? Jump and dash to your heart's content. Although, you may want to watch out for floating rock walls from above. Possibly a design detail to prevent flying to oblivion, the obstacles are sometimes unexpected but weirdly fitting. As a whole, Robot Unicorn's rainbow-colored visuals give a sense of wonder. And yes, coupled with its theme of choice, it does give that retro vibe.
You get three lives, or in game terms, three wishes. During each run, you get scored based on how long you lasted, the number of butterfly fairies you collected as well as the number of crystal stars you shatter.
Surviving in this game is a matter of having good reflexes and also having a good bit of luck. There will be times that a blind jump and dash will get you through safe passage, and there will be times when a jump sends you slamming straight into a wall. The sad part of all this is that you can only see so far ahead, and when the speed gets too fast to keep up with, you can only hope that your immediate actions do not have long term consequences.
You Will Sweat Rainbows
The game is pretty generous when it comes to bonus points. For pixies, each successful grab will increase the extra points awarded by increments of 10. For example, the first glittering, flitting, butterfly fairy you grab will net you 10 points. Get the second one and garner 20 points. String a third and you get a 30 point bonus. You get the idea.
Glass stars work pretty much the same way. But seeing as they have the potential to wreck your Robot Unicorn, they increase by 100 points each time. This means the first star you shatter will give you a 100 point bonus. Manage to dash through the second one in your way and you get an extra 200 points. Take note however that crashing through crystal stars makes your unicorn faster. So while nailing a few in a row does help rack up the points, you will also have to keep up accordingly.
Robot Unicorn is not the only creature inhabiting the whimsical, cloudy landscape. Manage to score 5000 points in a run and you get greeted by a leaping white dolphin. Get to 10,000 and he brings along his girl friend. Basically, every increment of 5,000 points is celebrated by sparkly marine mammals. Where exactly is Robot Unicorn headed? Is he literally chasing his dreams? Some back story would be nice for the kids, but all things considered, it probably won't make much sense anyway.
A Smile Until the End
Like there are several ways to score big in Robot Unicorn Attack, there are also a few ways to die. Missing a jump will ensure that your steel stallion's dreams are dashed. Smashing through walls or even crystal stars also give a quick death. For those with slow reflexes, the game's continuously increasing speed will be quite a challenge. Those who muscle cramp easily will also have to contend with the fact that Robot Unicorn's stages are endless. Indeed, if you have delicate hand muscles, you will have to get used to seeing the game over screen; specifically, one that has a beheaded Robot Unicorn in tears. Not really the nicest image to see in a game over screen, but at least it is not traumatic to look at.
Aside from the occasional "You will fail" or "A fiery death awaits you" de-motivational game message, the in-game texts are quite tame. So yes, while this game is great for oldies who can relate to Erasure, it is also suitable for younger platform gaming fans.
The Verdict
While highly detailed titles tend to be impressive, sometimes the best games are simple ones. True to form, this straightforward title does not disappoint. At best, it will entertain you. Robot Unicorn has the potential to draw out few giggling fits due to its utterly trippy aesthetics. At worse, it is a bizarrely addicting platformer. Even if you rarely play games in the genre, you may be surprised with your ability to withstand a looping track of Always while trying to contend with the game's increasing speed. We give this game a might 80's music tripping Unicorn's