The 3D platformer genre is still going strong after its heyday a nigh twenty-five years ago when it dominated the Nintendo 64 console. Whether it’s the fervent nostalgia or the simplicity of its fun factor, these collectathons are still a joy to complete to this day and may have fueled my love of checking off open-world checklists over the past decade or so. Greats like A Hat in Time and Toree have captivated those who yearn for more, and a newcomer is here by the name of Hop ‘n’ Marty to satisfy those who grew up with the greats. Let’s see if this one is worth completing!

Amongst its polygonal aesthetic and satisfying overworld music, Hop ‘n’ Marty captures so much of what made the classics like Banjo Kazooie and the like what they were to kids with a console in the 90s. This extends to the jerkwad sidekick, the ground pound, the swimming mechanics… it’s almost a carbon copy with a reskin, for better and worse. This demo sees you collect trapped pygmy marmosets as the main collectible, as you navigate platformer puzzles, memorize musical notes, and more in hopes of reaching all ten across the forest.

It does nothing to revolutionize the genre and is more of a thinly veiled encapsulation of its source material, but that isn’t a bad thing for those who want more of the same when they fire up Hop ‘n’ Marty. It was nice seeing Macbat make a cameo, and the length of the demo made the romp of collecting everything a satisfying half hour or so with a small file size. If you go into this one with tempered expectations and are searching for a quick and easy way to kill some time amongst other demos in this Steam Next Fest, Hop ‘n’ Marty is worth a download.

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