First things first, I have no idea how you pronounce the name Falco Xolon. But that didn’t stop me from having a good time.
Some of the jumps and the unforgiving nature of this game however did dampen that a little.
Other Planets Are Dangerous
Falco Xolon is a side-scrolling platformer. With guns. And despite my current feelings on it after yet another failed run, it is quite enjoyable.
You play as a space travelling explorer who lands on a new planet full of bad things. Just all bad. I mean the first screen has a toxic sludge barrel and you really couldn’t find anywhere better to land your ship. From there you encounter giant mosquitoes, floating spinning blades, goo monsters and other fun surprises.
You start the game with five hearts. If you get hit, you lose a heart and start at the beginning of the screen you died on. The game is over after you lose those five hearts. I don’t yet know if you can replenish those hearts, because I haven’t been able to make it very far into the game. Again, I’m really bad at games. You also have a limited number of laser shots and two rockets you can fire. Ammo is somewhat plentiful though so if you’re smart about it, it never really becomes an issue.
The controls are very simple. WASD to move, spacebar to jump, and the left and right mouse buttons shoot your lasers and rockets. This is one of those situations where controller support would definitely benefit me. Despite having more control with keyboard and mouse, I’m just more comfortable with a controller in my hand.
Actually, It’s The Jumping That’s Dangerous
The fact that I have not made it very far into Falco Xolon does not mean it is not good and/or fun. I really did have a good time with this game. And I want to be able to progress further into it. Despite a lot of dying, the hook of this game is how quickly you can jump back into it. Maybe once I get further into the game and starting over is a bit more of a stretch, that’ll change. Or who knows, maybe there is a save system I don’t yet know about.
The movement is fun, but you do have to be precise. There were times when I thought I was good to move forward and I in fact was not. And other times when I thought a rocket was going to go over my head. But it did not. As you replay the same screens over and over though, you are able to progress more quickly.
The shooting is also fun, but you do have to be a little judicious with your ammo. There is a screen later on, at least later on in my playthroughs, where you are swarmed by what I describe as large mosquitos. If you do not plan your rockets accordingly, you will never make it through.
Maybe Falco Xolon Is The Name Of The Planet
What’s not fun, is the screen after the swarm. Multiple times now I have had my run ended there because of falling off a platform and then not dying, but also not being able to do anything else. Really that’s my only gripe with the game so far, other than maybe a few times where I thought the collision detection was a little too harsh. But I learned to be more precise.
Okay, I didn’t really learn to be more precise. I think I just get lucky a lot with some of these runs. If you’re looking for a game to kill 15 minutes, Falco Xolon can be very good for that. Hopping in and playing a run is very easy and can be a little addicting. And if you manage to beat it, then there is a timer that times your runs so you can keep coming back to it to beat your own time. Maybe one day they’ll include leaderboards.
I’ve included a video this week, but there is no audio from myself. Instead it is just game audio, because that does need to be highlighted. The music has a Helldivers 2 kind of vibe, which if you haven’t heard, is very much some pump up music for killing bugs and robots. While you don’t necessarily do that in Falco Xolon, good music does help with getting hyped to make jumps and not die. I also wanted to show the area that ends my run, so you can share in my frustration.