Gentlemen…Ricochet Mini! Review

Gentlemen…Ricochet Mini! self identifies as a remake/de-make/sequel to Gentlemen…Ricochet!, a game released back in 2013. Essentially, this means Ricochet Mini! is a version of the original game that could conceivably be made and played on old mobile gaming hardware, namely the Game Boy. Ricochet Mini! does a fantastic job of capturing the aesthetic style of old mobile gaming, but this isn’t always in service of making the game fun.

For those that have played Gentlemen…Ricochet, Ricochet Mini! should be quite familiar. The game presents players with stages, the goal of which is to launch a puck through a series of obstacles onto a goal pad. Along the way, new stages will introduce different obstacles, items, etc, and players can also challenge themselves by shooting to gather all three stars presented in every stage. At the end of every level there are boss stages that present some of the game’s more varied and difficult challenges.

All told, it’s pretty standard for mobile puzzle titles.

What sets Ricochet Mini! apart from its predecessor is its look and feel. Presented in the greenish, dichromatic style of the Game Boy – complete with a pixel art style, a chiptune soundtrack, and one-touch controls – Ricochet Mini! feels like it could actually be played on the hardware its imitating. The developers even went so far as to adjust the aspect ratio so that it presents itself as the same screen size as a Game Boy.

While all of these touches are remarkably well done and charming, the choice to go intentionally super-retro doesn’t always work in Ricochet Mini!‘s favor. For example, since it’s now designed to be one-touch, players have to depend on a pixelated arrow that rotates around the puck to determine the direction to launch in, but this arrow doesn’t always feel like it’s pointing exactly where it’s supposed to due to its limited number of animation frames. Additionally, the chunky pixel art style can make it hard for players to predict how the puck will bounce off certain parts of the stage, which can result in frustration.

Overall, Ricochet Mini! feels like a game that relies almost too heavily on capturing nostalgia. Despite the issues this causes, it’s still a pretty fascinating title that can tickle players’ nostalgia bones. It’s easy enough to pick up and play that anyone looking for a trip down memory lane could probably have a good time with it.