I was trying not to write this article so I could keep some secrets for when the game actually releases but… well, I’ll just say it all over again then! On June 7th, 2023, Summitsphere threw a new ANTONBLAST Dynamite Demo to whomever wanted to pick it up! It was announced during the Guerilla Showcase side by side with Annalynn, a game that will have its own article pretty soon…
It was a great day for us neurodivergent and LGBTQ people (the Summitsphere Discord Server), and it’s one of the only things I’ve been playing through these last twenty days or so… and that’s why I decided to write about it, ‘cos I wanna talk and nobody’s stopping me now.
The Dynamite Demo is practically a whole different game when compared to the Kickstarter demo. Besides bringing Annie and a new stage triple the size of Boiler City to the table, there are lots and lots of new things that were changed and are still changing in every part of the game. Antonblast grows visually and sonorously at each new update in the #📯-announcements channel at Summit Inn, but the biggest and most impactful change brought to us by the Dynamite Demo is the gameplay!
Tony’s been teasing us for months with new additions to the game’s movement, but we finally have them in our hands. In response to critics that said the only way to sprint in Antonblast was to press dash repeatedly, Tony Grayson said “fuck it” and now you have to press dash repeatedly EVEN MORE… but you gotta have timing! Meet Clutch Boost!
In true Crash Team Racing fashion, a bar was added to the bottom-right corner of the screen that indicates the moment you have to press Clutch again. When the bar goes red, that’s when your next Clutch explodes in a much faster dash, and just for your own satisfaction, there’s a counter that says how many Clutch Boosts were involved in your combo!
You can use the Clutch Boost right after landing from a Hammer Bounce as well, probably the coolest bit of this mechanic. Now the act of spinning your hammer is a toggle, meaning you can keep spinning until you hit the button again. When you bounce once, you can do it again by pressing the toggle (Clutch Button) right before you hit the ground. But if you delay the timing, you’ll land with a Clutch Boost! That asks for timing it on both mechanics, but when you get used to it, it fits like a glove on your brain.
Allied to the Clutch, we have a Clutch Spin, making the Dynamites spin just like a certain bandicoot. Its use is to hit enemies in front of you without losing speed, in fact, you get even faster! It’s kinda lame to wreck an innocent Pippo with your dash if Anton brakes whenever you do that, so it’s a very fun and appreciated addition!
The Hammer Bounce also had some other changes. You can press down to fall faster (perfection.), or press it just before bouncing to bounce lower. A cool sound effect rings in both cases! But it’s especially fun to see how the hammer interacts with the stage. Colored bricks, spread throughout both levels, serve as a Crash crate where you can bounce higher. There’s a room in Cinnamon Springs that you can traverse by doing five Hammer Bounces on the bricks! And the name of the room is Moist Movements. Yeah.
+Read more: Antonball Deluxe is the best game you didn’t know you needed!
A new button was added, also related to movement. The Slide can now be done by pressing its own dedicated key (pressing down during your Clutch still works though), something that really helps you doing those jumps I’ve nicknamed “Hyper Hop” (like in KoF), a move where you fly in a huge burst of speed through the air while spinning your hammer. You can also do the Slide in the middle of your Clutch Boost if there’s not enough time for a spin and you don’t want to lose that combo. A slide during a Clutch still counts as a Clutch for the counter! By the way, I’m always saying “Clutch” this, “Clutch” that… I’m referring to the dash! What was once a Shoulder Bash is now… kind of like one in regards to how it works? But the animation is completely new in order to send the message that the hammer gets the dirty deed done cheap. And that’s precisely why hitting an enemy makes Anton stop. Neat!
Our first transformation is here, “Tornado Anton”! A form that works very similarly to how being burned alive works in Wario Land 4, but much wilder. The hurricane stops after bonking on three walls, but as the character spins you can wreak havoc along the way destroying everything you see by speeding up the tornado (holding the Clutch button). That also works like a magnet bringing every object and enemy around to be devoured by the cyclone!
Some other stuff received upgrades not only to feel more natural, but also faster. Your jumps, crate bounces, the Hammer Slam, climbing ladders… a lot of mechanics were tweaked to control and fit the Level Design better, and said design is still the coolest part about Antonblast.
Cinnamon Springs is here to make something clear: Antonblast can be played by anyone. All of these speed-based mechanics? Optional. And they’re also very easy to learn, even if just in a casual way. No one’s forced to play it like a speedrun! But the mechanics make movement even more fluid and fun without also shoving its more complex intricacies in everyone’s face. The stage design, for instance, accommodates any kind of playstyle. Everything is perfectly positioned to create a sense of adrenaline and help players that want to rush through the level (something that you can do even if hunting for the collectibles), but a slower-paced playstyle also fits the levels, which have some key moments to break the pace a little and make you stop to think. Of course, you can always rush through it if you know how, but most people that faced the devious timed platforms in Cinnamon Springs had to think things through first and respect the game’s rhythm, probably jumping one by one. Even then, occasionally you have to execute something faster, though missing it is not a problem! Antonblast never punishes you severely for making mistakes, in most cases you don’t even take damage.
Speaking of which, we were given a bigger health bar, with six cards instead of four. The presence of the heart-shaped beets gets even more frequent with time, something that makes your irresponsible sprints through explosives (the Hate Crates) or that one time you’ve crossed the street not looking both ways less dangerous!
Both the soundtrack and sound effects received a massive boost that they didn’t even need! The most recent Antonblast songs show me how this might be the best soundtrack I’ve listened to in recent years. It’s easy to see the inspirations: Sonic CD, Crash 2, Wario Land… it just gets better and better the more I listen to it. Tony has a very unique and charismatic musical style, every time I listen to something of his I feel the G Man’s hand. The SFX work was carefully done, in both Anton and Annie’s voice lines (they’re getting rid of the WL4 laugh…) and the little sounds for every tiny thing. The sound effect of getting a Spirit comes straight from MediEvil! That made me very happy.
This is Tony Grayson’s Soundcloud! Give him a listen and support his work!
Keeping up with Antonblast ever since I met the project has been one of the best experiences I’ve had in recent years. Met a lot of people, went through some adrenaline bursts and crises, got a new hyperfixation and, mostly, had lots of fun. Oh, and I’ve also got very nervous and shy while chatting on the server, but I think it’ll pass with time. Last but not least, I gotta mention that you can now hold things on the Dynamite Demo, something I hope to see used more in the future, just like I hope Tony Grayson listens to the cries of the three people that asked him to hold ladders during a Hammer Bounce. Thanks for reading!
