Hermano review — Está bien

Like many, I grew up on platformers. Whether it was Kirby’s Adventure and Super Mario World 3 on NES, or Wario Land 3 on my GameBoy Color, those were the staple of the time. Platformers are still quite prevalent in our world today, although they've certainly evolved with the times. Just look at TGA’s Game of the Year, AstroBot. Pat Morita Team is quite familiar with the genre, and while their latest title Hermano is solid, it leans a tad too much into the more basic formula from decades ago.

Hermano opens up with a short cutscene where your hermano named Mano is visiting your grave… because you are dead I suppose. He misses you, and in the midst of mourning is carried off by a demonic monster. This summons you, Nano, from your rest, and upon screaming “Hermano!”, you go off on a journey to find and save him. While the story isn’t exactly laid out any more beyond this and the game manual, it’s a cutesy theme that makes for a good foundation.

That charm sadly doesn't make its way to the gameplay. Let me explain. Everything here is pretty standard for a platformer. In this 2D world you'll jump around (with some great platforming controls), throw your head to attack enemies, and collect hearts to refill your health bar, one ups, and bombs to throw to help you in finding the door key to exit each level. Nothing new, and what's here is fine for what it is.

The biggest issue is that the variety is only in individual levels. All of the gameplay elements I mentioned are largely what you'll find, save for a few fun times where you lose gravity and you're playing upside down. This is a great choice and some of the best gameplay Hermano offers, often excelling in its platforming, but it's not enough to make up for how stale it can get. I'd have loved to see some sort of power up that could switch things up occasionally, especially as the bombs you can chuck proves some additional creativity is possible.

Even with the gameplay lacking, the levels are a treat. The Día de los Muertos-inspired design is pleasant, leading to some enjoyable platforming through crypts, graveyards, towns, and more. There are also a decent number of enemy sprites to deal with; although most mimic another bad guy, the variety in models is as well done as the levels. Hermano doesn't lack in the looks department. There are also some fun bonus levels you'll find along the way where you collect chilis in a more intensive platforming section, which is a great choice by Pat Morita Team. Alongside all this, a wonderful chiptune soundtrack adds ambience, even though the sound effects aren't as punchy as I'd prefer.

It's almost surprising the game has time to feel repetitive, because it's over quite quickly. Running roughly two hours, it's certainly one of the shorter games I've played on the ModRetro Chromatic so far. Given the lack of variety in the gameplay, I don't see a lot of replayability with Hermano. Its brief nature does make the lack of a save system hurt a little less, but that missing feature is confusing in its own right. 

Hermano takes the old Super Mario route, making you restart the entire game if you turn it off or lose power. A code system could have worked here to mitigate that annoyance. Also, cosmetic costumes for Nano, especially leaning into their theme, would have been a fun unlockable that could be hidden in or a reward for finishing levels. Hermano truly has a lot of heart, but it could use some more love.

I did have one technical issue I noticed. A few times when hopping through a level, I'd encounter several enemies on screen at the same time. Whenever this happened, my frame rate would stutter or slow a bit. It's not game-breaking, but if this were to happen during moments of precise platforming, it could ruin your run.