Sir Noggin is simply delightful. I had been eyeballing this game on Steam for months, waiting for the right time when I was in the mood for a quick little retro-styled platformer. Finally, I had a weekend with an open schedule and some time to play with my oldest son, who has recently become my steadfast gaming companion. We dove headfirst into this adorable action-platformer and had a blast.
Sir Noggin is intentionally designed in a way that hearkens back to the visuals you'd find on the Sega Master System. The art style immediately gripped me. The huge, chunky graphics are so charming, and the color palette is incredibly vibrant and eye-catching. I instantly fell in love with the diverse and bizarre enemy designs, which reminded me of the kinds of critters you see in the Mario games. The gameplay was also totally competent, with tight and responsive platforming and fun combat.
The game features twenty short stages, spanning across seven distinct worlds. You'll jump and fight your way through myriad regions like: colorful plains, spooky woods, fungal forests and dark and dangerous castles. The platforming never gets particularly difficult, regardless of how far you are in the game, which makes it a great game for an entry-level gamer. Combat wise, Sir Noggin is equipped with a comically giant sword, as well as a shield, which he can use to reflect some ranged enemy attacks. The immense length of his sword, relative to his tiny body, can be used to your advantage to take out foes from a safe distance.
Besides the sword and shield, Sir Noggin can also pick up potent power-ups throughout each stage. These come in the form of extra attacks like boomerangs, bombs, or a spell that launches three fireballs. I believe there were four different power-ups in total, but the bomb was easily the most useful. I could trivialize many of the boss battles by just lobbing bombs at them. These power-ups require ammo that you can regularly replenish, but it is a good idea to ration out your ammo as best you can, as these attacks can totally save you in a tough spot.
The only complaint I have with Sir Noggin has to do with the final Zone and its corresponding boss battle. The stage itself isn't too difficult, and is actually the most unique and interesting level in the entirety of the game. Once you clear the stage, you'll enter a small area where you can pick which power-up you want to take into the final boss fight. This final boss battle was surprisingly challenging and it seems like you can get on the bad side of some RNG, where the boss just rotates through powerful attacks that are hard to dodge. If you fail the boss fight, it'll restart you right back at the beginning of the battle, but without the power-up you chose. So we learned that you can select "Restart Stage" in the main menu and it'll take you back to the little area before the boss where you can select your power-up. If you accidentally select "Restart Stage" while in this "pre-boss battle" area, it'll boot you back to the beginning of the Zone and you'll have to get through that entire level again. Because of the bizarrely challenging final boss fight, we struggled with this frustrating process several times before I got lucky with the boss seemingly getting stuck using some predictable attack over and over while I chipped away at his massive health pool.
Sir Noggin is a very cute little action-platformer that deserves more attention. If you've got kids, or you're new to platformers, I totally recommend this gem of a game as a great entry point to the genre. I think if you're an old school gamer who grew up with the NES and Master System, you'll likely enjoy this too. Sir Noggin is highly affordable and won't ask too much of your time or your abilities.
Available On: PC
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