Clockwork Pixels first hit on our radar all the way back in 2012 when they ported their excellent matching/cat-collecting game Kitten Sanctuary over from desktop to mobile, and while they did release a handful of titles not long after that, we hadn't heard anything from them in several years. That changed this past Friday when Clockwork Pixels unexpectedly released a new platformer called Citadel 1986 [$0.99 / Free] to the App Store. After cutting his development teeth on the Commodore 64 back in the day, Clockwork Pixels wanted to create an homage to the platformers of that system, specifically Son of Blagger on C64. As such Citadel 1986 is a very straightforward platforming game that will text your dexterity with running and jumping as you explore 37 levels that are grouped together as part of one giant scrolling map, kind of like a Metroidvania. Check out the trailer.
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There are some very cleverly-designed levels in Citadel 1986, and I really like its emphasis on pure platforming challenges. Simply collect all the keys in an area to unlock the next while avoiding death as much as possible. There's also a really diverse and strange cast of enemies to avoid like giant staplers and buzzsaw postage stamps. If you're a bad enough dude or dudette, you can even take things to the next level by attempting to complete the game as quickly as possible and with the least amount of deaths as possible, as both are tracked while you pl...