I first finished this game around May or June 2013 after I got it from a Greenlight bundle. I loved it for the art direction, the simple mechanics that induced nostalgia in me, and the comfortable gamepad controls (I would not play a game like this with mouse and keyboard, out of personal preference).

Having grown up during the old age of "jump & run" games, or platformers, I felt right at home with Oozi. It pulled all the right strings for me, and made me remember my old Sega days with all those simple yet enjoyable games.

Oozi has 24 levels in its story mode (whereas the story is just a basic framing on loading screens and between the four zones), of which 4 are boss fights. That may not seem much compared to games like Super Meat Boy or A Walk in the Dark, but it certainly is enough in this case.
Levels can last a good amount of time, depending on difficulty and skill level. You'll definitely get many more hours out of the game than out of pretty much any modern shooter.

On top of the main levels, however, the game also comes with an Arcade Mode, which puts you back into those levels with a more specific goal than reaching the end: Collect as many stars as you can before the timer runs out. If you die, start from the beginning. Checkpoints replenish a bit of time, which is very tight all the way through the level. If you finish the level, you will get a rating from one to three stars, depending on the amount of stars you caught.
This is quite tricky in a lot of levels, and will require almost perfect runs to get 3 stars.

There are also Challenge and Bonus missions, with varying goals. From reaching the end of the level while avoiding rising water to "kill all enemies" missions, you'll get a lot of action. Additionally, those, too, have two additional goals each. All three goals need to be met for a three star rating. And they run on a timer!
These missions are tough as nails, and will probably infuriate you a lot. However, they are satisfying to beat, and well-designed - if you are good at platformers, test yourself on them!

The overall level design of Oozi is simple on first glance, without any elaborately hidden secrets (not unless you run through levels blindly), but the trap and enemy placement really builds a nice difficulty curve.
While you start out with only your basic double-jump and can only knock out basic enemies, every zone delivers a new set of skills and mechanics. This ranges from stomping over wall-jumping to picking up bombs, punching stunned enemies and hiding in shadows. The traps get more mean as the game progresses, and while a lot of them and the enemies are similar or just visually different from previous encounters, the sheer variety of things that may kill you is a plus.

Truth be told, the game still has some glitches and bugs here and there (restarting one challenge mission would get the objective stuck, for example), but nothing that would really deter from the game's enjoyment. Those things are easily fixed and worked around.

As it stands I would recommend Oozi: Earth Adventure to fans of platformers, and oldschool platformers specifically. It is a refreshingly enjoyable game without any of the more "pretentious" elements or big stories, and simply focuses on challenging the player. Which it does excellently! Purchase recommendation given.

I first finished this game around May or June 2013 after I got it from a Greenlight bundle. I loved it for the art direction, the simple mechanics that induced nostalgia in me, and the comfortable gamepad controls (I would not play a game like this with mouse and keyboard, out of personal preference). Having grown up during the old age of "jump & run" games, or platformers, I felt right at home with Oozi. It pulled all the right strings for me, and made me remember my old Sega days with all those simple yet enjoyable games. Oozi has 24 levels in its story mode (whereas the story is just a basic framing on loading screens and between the four zones), of which 4 are boss fights. That may not seem much compared to games like Super Meat Boy or A Walk in the Dark, but it certainly is enough in this case. Levels can last a good amount of time, depending on difficulty and skill level. You'll definitely get many more hours out of the game than out of pretty much any modern shooter. On top of the main levels, however, the game also comes with an Arcade Mode, which puts you back into those levels with a more specific goal than reaching the end: Collect as many stars as you can before the timer runs out. If you die, start from the beginning. Checkpoints replenish a bit of time, which is very tight all the way through the level. If you finish the level, you will get a rating from one to three stars, depending on the amount of stars you caught. This is quite tricky in a lot of levels, and will require almost perfect runs to get 3 stars. There are also Challenge and Bonus missions, with varying goals. From reaching the end of the level while avoiding rising water to "kill all enemies" missions, you'll get a lot of action. Additionally, those, too, have two additional goals each. All three goals need to be met for a three star rating. And they run on a timer! These missions are tough as nails, and will probably infuriate you a lot. However, they are satisfying to beat, and well-designed - if you are good at platformers, test yourself on them! The overall level design of Oozi is simple on first glance, without any elaborately hidden secrets (not unless you run through levels blindly), but the trap and enemy placement really builds a nice difficulty curve. While you start out with only your basic double-jump and can only knock out basic enemies, every zone delivers a new set of skills and mechanics. This ranges from stomping over wall-jumping to picking up bombs, punching stunned enemies and hiding in shadows. The traps get more mean as the game progresses, and while a lot of them and the enemies are similar or just visually different from previous encounters, the sheer variety of things that may kill you is a plus. Truth be told, the game still has some glitches and bugs here and there (restarting one challenge mission would get the objective stuck, for example), but nothing that would really deter from the game's enjoyment. Those things are easily fixed and worked around. As it stands I would recommend Oozi: Earth Adventure to fans of platformers, and oldschool platformers specifically. It is a refreshingly enjoyable game without any of the more "pretentious" elements or big stories, and simply focuses on challenging the player. Which it does excellently! Purchase recommendation given.