When you think about difficult games, usually FromSoftware games like Elden Ring or Bloodborne come to mind. But, if you suck at platformers like I do, it’s always the cutesy games that obliterate your confidence in your ability to use a controller. The most recent game to make me question my own competency was Decline’s Drops, a platformer developed by indie studio Moulin aux Bulles (which Google Translate tells me is French for ‘Bubble Mill’).
Premise
Decline’s Drops is an action-platformer about a wooden puppet defending her garden as mysterious forces mutate and distort nature around her. Chickens, lizards, and a plethora of other ordinary animals are warped into bizarre enemies. As you go through the game, you aim to uncover what forces are at work to destroy the garden. The atmosphere of Decline’s Drops quickly turns into a subtle tale of environmentalism.
Gameplay
The best way I can describe the gameplay of Decline’s Drops is “Super Mario Bros. but you get to hit back.” Like many platformers, Decline’s Drops uses the same world-level system that Nintendo popularized. The parallels aren’t confined to just platforming and the world map: the second level of Decline’s Drops is subterranean, just like in Super Mario Bros.
The platforming in this game is 2D, but is by no means linear. It strays from traditional side-scrolling and takes on a much more vertical level design. Sometimes you’ll be going left, right, upwards, downwards—quite literally every direction except into and out of the screen. To traverse these wild levels, there’s platforms, human (or puppet?) cannons, bouncy tomatoes, beanstalks that deny access to other areas, and so many other things I couldn’t possibly list them all here.
Expanding the level design is refreshing for platforming gameplay, but does mean that greater care needs to go into directing the player. When there are multiple branching paths, it’s easy to stray away from the path that’ll lead you to the final objective if there aren’t environmental obstacles or indicators. While not too frequent, there are moments in Decline’s Drops where there is very little guidance on where to go next.
Like level design, the combat of Decline’s Drops is heavily inspired by Nintendo titles, with the developer specifically noting Super Smash Bros. as an influence on the game’s Steam page. Like the popular fighting game, Decline’s Drops has a system of normal attacks, special attacks, dashes, and more. A more unique mechanic however, is that special attacks use up resources called “linseed points” that are found through the game. While this approach does mean that special attacks are more scarce and impactful, it does mean that you might end up in trouble if you’re not careful. There’s also other unique abilities like giant boxing glove hands that can be activated after running a certain distance.
I didn’t find the level design or combat of Decline’s Drops to be revolutionary, but it doesn’t need to be and wasn’t trying to be. The developers explicitly state where their influences come from, and they do a good job of bringing in those time-tested mechanics and making them their own.
Controls
Decline’s Drops is meant to be played with a controller, and while there is the option to play with a keyboard, I would advise against it. There’s something about the controller scheme that just works with platformers, especially when trying to bring the same vibes as beloved Nintendo games (at least gameplay-wise). The controls themselves are pretty simple: you’ve got an attack button, a jump button which you can press twice for a double jump, a dodge/dash button, etc.
So why was this game difficult for me? Well, however simple and intuitive the controls are, there are some major flaws with how inputs translate to action on screen. Moving, especially while jumping feels “slippery,” like you can’t stop in time to readjust. Many parts of Decline’s Drops require precise platforming, for example, bouncing vertically off of one platform to the next without rest. If you misinput even slightly, you end up falling back to the ground and have to restart the climb. Difficult parkouring is not inherently a problem, but it becomes incredibly frustrating when the controls are not fine tuned well enough for the player to readjust in time. Whenever dealing with a difficult section, my strategy was usually to just button mash until I got lucky and made it through.
All of this should be taken with a grain of salt as I don’t usually play platformers and am not that great at them. That being said, it is a critical aspect of gameplay for a platformer to have good controls. Precision timing and parkouring need to feel natural and flowy rather than a frantic flail to the top. While the feel of Decline’s Drops’ controls is not the worst I’ve experienced, there definitely needs to be some additional fine tuning to the movement.
Art Direction
In my opinion, the visuals are the strongest aspect of Decline’s Drops. According to the developers, the game was hand drawn, and that sort of dedication and care really shows. The art style is this nice, simplistic cartoon design with pretty fluid animation. This is a game full of pastel colors that fit the low-key, sort of sad theme it aims to present. The background imagery conveys the scenery in such a way that it truly feels far back in the plane, but not completely visually disconnected from the playing field. That sort of connection between the foreground and background is absolutely necessary for a good 2D game. From an overall direction standpoint, while levels and worlds vary in themes and focuses, the overall visual direction stays consistent.
In terms of sound design, the music is well crafted, although not always a perfect match for the level. For example, there will be calm ambient piano music while you’re sprinting around and punching enemies. Or there’s the inverse where the music is super fast and upbeat at the beginning of the level when there’s nothing happening yet. I found this dissonance to be a little bit distracting, but not game-breaking.
The sound effects themselves are also pretty well done, with impactful sounding-punches and appropriately bouncy-sounding tomatoes. I do wish there were more sounds for enemies or exertion sounds from the player character, but I also understand the limitation on resources for an indie studio such as Moulin aux Bulles.
Conclusions
Decline’s Drops is a heavily stylized indie experience that takes standard platforming mechanics and combines it with its own unique vision. The atmosphere of this game is meticulously crafted to tell a melancholy story about environmentalism. If you’re a fan of platformers, I would recommend checking out Decline’s Drops, though be warned about potential frustration at the hands of imprecise controls. Overall, Decline’s Drops is a good game that can become truly great with a little more gameplay tweaking.
