Proxima B: The Demo – A Retro Space Odyssey That Trips Over Its Own Moon Boots
Hello everyone. Today we’re strapping into our metaphorical cardboard rocket to talk about Proxima B: The Demo – an 8-bit sci-fi adventure made for the Game Boy Color that somehow manages to be both charmingly retro and a bit like chewing on freeze-dried disappointment. Yes, it’s a GB Studio project, which means we get an old-school throwback with pixel art, chiptunes, and the joy of remembering what it was like when your “save game” was a handwritten code you inevitably lost in the laundry. But nostalgia is not a shield against criticism, and as your attending physician for bad design choices, I’m about to give this patient a rather thorough-and unfiltered-check-up.
First Impressions: Retro for Retro’s Sake?
The premise is promising enough: Earth’s been smacked by a space rock the size of a boss fight arena, and you’re now humanity’s cosmic errand boy (IASA Combat Astronaut, but let’s call it what it is) sent to tame Proxima B before the Ackloids can plant their alien flag in it. The problem is, in demo form, your grand interstellar mission consists of… the intro and one measly level. That’s it. This is less “tease” and more “showing someone the first forkful of dinner and then snatching the plate away.”
Gameplay: Puzzle Platforming in Bite-Size Chunks
Puzzle-based progression is the bread and butter here, with a dash of energy collection for weapon upgrades. On paper, this sounds like a decent loop-explore, solve, zap the enemy. In reality, playing the demo is like entering a tutorial you never graduate from. The single boss encounter gives a whiff of mechanical depth, but before you can adjust strategy or test your gamer reflexes, credits roll like you just beat the prologue in a JRPG. A short experience is fine… but a short experience with minimal challenge feels more like an unskippable cutscene from a game you’d rather actually be playing.
Aesthetic: 8-Bit Love Letter or Inevitable Fan Mod?
The 8-bit soundtrack is spot-on – think pulse wave lullabies for the retro-inclined. Art style nails the Game Boy aesthetic without drifting into modernized “faux retro” territory, so points for authenticity. There’s even a player color customizer, which is lovely until you realize you’ve spent more time fiddling with palette swaps than actually fighting the Ackloids. It feels like spending half an hour customizing your armor in an RPG only to discover the demo ends after a single goblin bash.
Story: Apocalypse Now, Retro Edition
I’ll give it to them – the setup has the right kind of pulp sci-fi cheese: alien invaders, injured allies, and a civilization on the brink. There’s even a satisfyingly sinister race name (Ackloids) that sounds like a B-movie VHS villain. But here’s the rub: this narrative teases galaxy-saving heroism and instead delivers a single hostile skirmish before telling you to wait for the full release. It’s like buying a ticket to the moon landing and being told your seat gets you to the launch pad only.
Technical Specs: Yes, It Can Run on Your Toaster
This thing runs on Windows 7 and Linux with a laughable 20MB space requirement-good news if your gaming rig is actually a repurposed microwave. It uses the Gambatte emulator, licensed under GPL, which is worth noting because it means the devs are leaning heavily into legitimate retro emulation. It’s like borrowing grandma’s typewriter: charming, if you’re fine with the fact that it clacks and jams by design.
Final Diagnosis
Look, Proxima B: The Demo is not bad. It’s competently assembled, passionate about the retro vibe, and has a premise with enough pulp to build a small sci-fi fruit stand. But as a demo, it’s painfully short and feels more like a marketing handshake than a real taste of the game’s challenge or depth. It’s early-game loot in a high-level dungeon: better than nothing, but not what you came here for. For retro enthusiasts and GB Studio nerds, it’s worth a 20-minute curiosity trip. For anyone else, you might want to park your trusty space cruiser until the full release lands in August 2025.
Like a pixelated appetizer – tasty enough, but nowhere near filling.
My prognosis? Cautiously optimistic with a side of “why didn’t you give me more to chew on?” Much like a dungeon run you only just started getting into before the server unexpectedly crashes, it leaves you curious – but frustrated.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is entirely my opinion.
Article source: Proxima B The Demo, https://store.steampowered.com/app/3849640/Proxima_B_The_Demo/
