Tanglewood | Indie Pearls

I’ve got a gem of a game for you today! Tanglewood sends you back into the 90s with a Sonic feel Sega Mega Drive game. The ex Travellers Tale Developer Matt Phillips from Big Evil Corporation set up a Kickstarter to bring life to his game. He used all the original 1990s Sega development tools and programmed it with 6800 assembly language.

It’s so authentic that the PC download comes with a Mega Drive ROM to use with an emulator. You can also purchase the real cartridge, so dust off your old Mega Drive. Get ready to be blasted into the past!

The Storyline

Set in a fictional world, you play as the character Nymn who has been separated from his pack. He is unable to get back to the safety of his underground home and has to find a way to survive. The world of Tanglewood is a dangerous place to be after dark, so he must use his skills and trickery to survive against the predators that hide in the darkness. Struggling his way back to the safety of his home.

Gameplay

Tanglewood is a platform based 16-bit side-scrolling game which leaves you feeling nostalgic. You start in the typical side-scrolling style from the left and progress through the levels, of course, it isn’t that easy. Nymn is a very fragile little fox and can be killed with a single touch, making it very tense while being chased.

Throughout the game, there are a series of puzzles to solve which has a hint of influence from the Lego style games. You can expect to be pushing blocks, activating machinery and dropping boulders on your enemies. Of course, there are harder puzzles to work out which gives the game a great balance.

During the game, there are little creatures called Fuzzls guide them back to your nest you gain a color-coded power. This opens up abilities such as the chance to glide around or jump on the back of a larger creature.

There is the introduction of a second fox during the game. He gives you the ability to piggyback which you use to jump to higher platforms or avoid hazards.

Although it can be all too easy to die sometimes, luckily the game works on a checkpoint based system so you don’t have to start from the beginning. The overall gameplay is brilliant, it’s a truly golden era game, with a unique approach to Mega Drive puzzling.

Is Tanglewood a Must Have?

My answer is YES! Playing this game transported me straight back to my childhood as soon as I started. I loved the little puzzles that occur throughout the game and the intensity of the chases that occur.

It’s hard to imagine this game did not exist back in the day if only someone had thought of it!