Birthday of Midnight Review

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Birthday of Midnight is a golf-like puzzle game by petite Games, featuring a cute fairly cube named Midnight. The world of Midnight is just that, a world of perpetual darkness filled with traps like spikes, circular saws, and plenty of other dangerous hazards that’ll keep Midnight from his goal.

Birthday of Midnight’s premise is rather simple: Just like with golf, get Midnight to the glowing hole in as few strokes as possible. Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong. Initially, the first 10 levels or so are pretty simple to gather the concept in how best to get from point A to point in as few moves as possible. However, as the game progresses and you go through more levels, the obstacles and traps are aplenty. There are over 70+ stages to go through. Each more challenging than the last. They’re neatly designed levels that you have to really think about for the best strategy.

Controls are simple: The left stick selects the direction, indicated by a white arrow and power, indicated by how long or short that arrow becomes. The more you tilt the left stick, the stronger and further Midnight will fly. Holding A gives you time to align your shot before you release the A button. There are no time limits here, so take your time. Do be careful though, because if you fling him too hard, he will die if he smashes the end of either side of the screen. Traps will also kill him of course. The controls for Birthday of Midnight work really well on the Switch, but there were a few instances where I flung Midnight a bit too hard and he would die. So, don’t go into this trying to fling Midnight all over the place. Control your swings and you’ll get a hole in one in no time.

Some of the levels in Birthday of Midnight have little to no explanation about certain obstacles or what’s to be expected. I ran into not knowing right away how best to tackle a new obstacle more times than I’d like to admit. There are some signs posted on the level that when you land near or on them, they give you hints. However, those hints aren’t immediately obvious on what to do. So do be ready to fail numerous times to find that perfect route in as few strokes as possible. This can get frustrating, especially when you think you have the shot, but as you watch Midnight sail through, he ends up getting snagged on something or ricocheting off a corner. But there’s no penalty for starting over, so just restart the level if you see Midnight veering off course.

In Birthday of Midnight, there are a few other traps outside of the traps like; spikes and circular saws such as lasers, TNT, and fire. I accidentally knocked into a crate of TNT and it took a few seconds to explode. So, you do have a moment to get away from the hazard. However, it’ll take away from your stroke count. Just be sure that while scanning the level for how best to get to the end, be mindful of how many traps there are so you can avoid them while maintaining your low stroke count. Don’t be afraid to restart! I can’t tell you how many times I reloaded and each time I did, found a newer, faster way to get Midnight to his goal.

Overall, I enjoyed Birthday of Midnight’s cute aesthetic and simple, yet challenging gameplay. It looks great on the Switch and is very easy to pick up and play. There are a lot of challenges to be had with Midnight and his world of darkness. So put your thinking cap on and get ready to fling Midnight around in as little moves as possible. With a smooth soundtrack, dangers aplenty, and a plethora of levels to test your golfing might, get ready for a puzzle filled ride.

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Nintendo Switch code was provided to Bonus Stage for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to press@4gn.co.uk.

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Birthday of Midnight Review
  • Gameplay - 8/10
    8/10
  • Graphics - 8/10
    8/10
  • Sound - 7/10
    7/10
  • Replay Value - 8/10
    8/10
User Review
0 (0 votes)
Comments Rating 0 (0 reviews)
Overall
8/10

Summary

There are a lot of challenges to be had with Midnight and his world of darkness.

Pros

  • Easy to pick up and play right away.
  • Plenty of levels to go through, each harder than the last.
  • Great soundtracks that don’t detract from gameplay.

Cons

  • Some levels have no explanation for certain obstacles.
  • Somewhat sensitive controls, easy to fling Midnight too hard.

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