Defunct

This game was amazing, I thought to myself as I was about 50 minutes into playing it. I was thinking about all the future areas to explore and mess around in as I had only just begun playing the game. Only ten minutes later, I finished the game. Everything about this game I love... but its just way too short.

Game Review "Defunct"
Developer: Freshly Squeezed
Introduction
"Defunct" is a platform racing experience developed by Freshly Squeezed. Released as a standalone title, the game stands out for its innovative and visually distinct approach. With a mix of exploration, speed, and platforming mechanics, "Defunct" offers a fun and engaging experience that will appeal to fans of both racing and platforming games.
Gameplay and Mechanics
"Defunct" combines platforming mechanics with a strong emphasis on speed and fluid movement. The player takes on the role of a small robot who must recover and find his way through a futuristic world full of challenges. The core mechanics of the game revolve around using a speed boost to overcome obstacles and perform precise jumps.
The movement system is one of the game's strong points. The robot's ability to slide and propel itself creates a sense of speed and fluidity that is both fun and challenging. The gameplay is enhanced by a well-crafted level design, which offers a variety of obstacles and challenges that require skill and precision to overcome.
Graphics and Design
The visual style of "Defunct" is one of its biggest draws. The game adopts a vibrant, futuristic aesthetic, with 3D graphics that present a detailed and colorful world. The level design is impressive, with environments ranging from industrial areas to futuristic cityscapes, each carefully designed to provide a visually stimulating and diverse experience.
Sound and Music
The soundtrack of "Defunct" complements the fast-paced pace of the game well. With a mix of electronic and energetic tracks, the music helps to create a dynamic and immersive atmosphere. The sound effects, which include the sound of the robot gliding and interacting with the environment, are well-executed and add an extra layer of immersion to the gameplay experience.
Challenges and Rewards
The game offers a progressive difficulty curve that challenges players to hone their movement and precision skills. The combination of challenging levels and hidden collectibles provides a sense of reward and accomplishment as players progress. The satisfaction of overcoming complex obstacles and finding secrets adds an additional dimension of enjoyment and engagement to the game.
Community Aspects and Updates
Although “Defunct” is an indie title, it has a dedicated player base that appreciates the originality and design of the game. Freshly Squeezed demonstrates a commitment to quality by providing ongoing support and updates that improve the gameplay experience and address community feedback. This helps keep the game fresh and relevant even after launch.
Conclusion
“Defunct” is an innovative addition to the platformer and racing genre, offering a unique and engaging experience developed by Freshly Squeezed. With fluid movement mechanics, vibrant graphics, and an energetic soundtrack, the game stands out for its ability to provide both fun and challenge. If you are a fan of platformers that combine speed, precision, and a visually appealing futuristic world, “Defunct” is an excellent choice that promises hours of entertainment and satisfaction.

If you like going blindingly fast and love the feeling of making a perfect landing after being airborne for 10 seconds, this game is great fun. If you're not a speedrunner, but still enjoy games like Need for Speed, this is worth it even without a sale.

Really fun indie I never hear anyone talk about. Super fast based kind-of platformer with unique controls and really satisfying momentum. Takes about an hour to beat if you aren't going for collectibles

This is a very satisfying movement and physics based racing (and platforming?) game.
Most negative reviews mention the fact that the game is only 2 hours long at maximum. Which is true but I really don't understand the ideology of I need to get my money's worth out of a game which is indicated by the playtime you can potentially squeeze out of the game, for me this soley ain't an argument for writing a negative/bad review, especially when you're the kind to buy FIFA or the newst CoD every year for the full price.
I think a better argument would be that the game doesn't feature any modding or work shop, you could do a bunch and add unlimited amounts of content, through community designed maps etc. Besides that there is nothing else I could complain about, I love the artstyle and mechanics. The level design is simple but pretty, after a couple of minutes or levels played you'll get the grasp of the movement and it will become very satisfying to traverse through the levels. It overall feels very polished. Reminds me of the old Sonic games I used to play. I wonder why there isn't a huge speed running community for this game. Well worth the couple of bucks, whenever it's on sale and well worth the couple of hours playtime.
They recently even lowered the price of the game from 9.99€ to 6.89€, this definitely deserves a ton of respect, when the majority of developers even indie developers have raised the price with unreasonable and baseless arguments over the years (e.g Rimworld; There are Billions), there are still some who listen and take constructive critique to heart and even act upon it, I cherrish these people. The game does lack in content though, which like I argued earlier, could be easily fixed with a work shop. (8.4/10)

Considering I got it for less than a dollar, I decided "why not" and gave it a try.
Expecting something frustrating or difficult due to the negative reviews, I have to say it exceeded my expectations when going in. (Not sure about the replay value yet, haven't finished it.)
Unironically a great game, but there isn't that much content if you're only playing once and without stopping for stuff (considering the 10-collectible achievement is around 8.7% as of review, I can see that's the case).
Physics are a bit off but I like treating certain levels as if they were a skate park, makes it a lot more enjoyable than just zooming through.
I haven't finished it yet, but I've definitely at least gotten my money's worth. I'd recommend looking around for a sale (which has happened often as of recently) if you're similar to me.

I bought the game on switch a few years ago, and loved it ever since, when i saw this game went on sale for a dollar i was feeling nostalgic. Suffice to say this game is beautiful in its concept, and i loved replaying it again in better fidelity. The true reward definitely comes from mastery of the controls and a great understanding of the environment like a sonic game, maybe that's why i had such a great appeal to it.
If you're looking for a skill based game momentum game i'd highly recommend this one