Fenix Rage might’ve been the best game at PAX East

Do you love Super Meat Boy? Enjoy difficult platformers where you’re definitely going to have deaths in the double digits before triumphantly beating a level? Then get ready for Fenix Rage, a 2D platformer that will undoubtedly remind you of Super Meat Boy but mixed with mechanics from Flappy Bird and Sonic the Hedgehog. And it might’ve been the best game at PAX.

The first thing you should know is that this is a hardcore platformer. You will die… a lot. Maybe even on the first level. Much like Super Meat Boy, this game is full of challenge. Each level times how fast you get through it, whether or not you collect a cookie (which unlocks things later on in the game), and how many times you die. To get through these daunting levels in the quickest time possible, you have an unlimited dash move — allowing you to glide through the air or get my a quick-moving obstacle — and a Flappy Bird-like jumping mechanic, where if you keep tapping the buttons you’ll keep going higher.

It’s a very fast game, so you’ll need to be equally as fast if you want to avoid the flying and static projectiles and obstacles places around the map. Dashing will break you through walls, while sliding down a really hot wall will set you on fire and allow you to break through an ice wall. Oh, and the boss levels create a sense of panic as you have something chasing you through the level, making you navigate as precisely and quickly as you can.

Equally as impressive as the gameplay are the graphics. The bright, vibrant colors pop and make the game come to life. While a game like Evolve will blow someone away for its technical visuals and realism, Fenix Rage is like a really gorgeous and enjoyable art piece. It looks like a comic book at times, and the colors are wonderfully blended to create one of the more visually pleasing games I’ve seen at PAX East.

The Costa Rica-based developer of Green Lava Studios have a stylish, addictive hit on their hands. Fenix Rage is probably the best game I played at PAX East. Even though my death count was absurdly high, I want more and more. Fenix Rage will release on PC and consoles sometime in 2014.

You can follow Senior Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. He likes talking sports, video games, movies, and the stupidity of celebrities. Email at LLiebl@GameZone.com