🪱 Tapeworm: Disco Puzzle | Dreamcast | Review | 8/10 "A game that will worm its way into your heart" 🪱 @LowtekGames #IndieGame #IndieGameDev #RetroGaming

Lowtek’s previous title, Flea! Was very much loved in the GF towers, especially by me. With addictive gameplay, crisp visuals, smooth animation and music that was of Bubble Bobble-level catchiness, it was very much a winner.

I’ve been following the development of Tapeworm for some time, and even picked up the t-shirt from Lowtek Games’ website as I loved the image and yes, the pun.

Of course, the proof is in the pudding….can the finished game stand up to the high quality of the pun-title, premise… and developer Alistair Low’s Tik-Tok videos?

Yes, yes it can.

“Play as a tapeworm, a local nightclub owner. It’s your job to make sure the fleas enjoy themselves. You’ll be helping them collect blood, play bangin' tunes and get them to gigs on time. Some fleas have been acting strange and it’s up to you to unravel the mystery”

How do you do all this?

Why, via single-screen puzzles, of course! Your headphone-sporting tapeworm will complete his quests by popping out one of two sides of a cassette that runs across the bottom of the screen and using his allocated amount of grid-style moves to make his way around the screen, collecting blood for the fleas as well as musical notes and extra cassettes to extend movement capabilities.

Upon collecting each item, it’s off to the next stage, following a pop-up password, which will allow you to continue from where you left off. With infinite lives on offer, Tapeworm is a more cerebral and casual affair than the more twitch-tastic Flea!

Although that’s not to say that Tapeworm is shy when it comes to challenges. Oh yes, you’ll have your head bobbing along to the tunes of the early stages as you get teased into the gameplay mechanics, but mark my words – by around level 35, you’ll have to pause for thought before diving in and worming your way around.

What begins as pottering across the screen and breezily picking up musical notes, soon leads to juggling fleas on time-sensitive platforms as you avoid pattern-based enemies and as well as spikes and the various other nefarious pitfalls that block your path.

As with the previous game, the audio (by Tui) is top-notch. The bouncy mood fits perfectly with the light-heartedness of the overall design and never seems to get repetitive. I would happily buy the soundtracks on vinyl. It’s a real skill to have short tracks on a never-ending loop that always capture your imagination. In fact, I’ve been listening to the music on loop as I write this article and I’m still tapping along.

With a two-player mode complete with custom levels specially designed for this option, a cool tapeworm logo on the VMU and buckets of charm, Tapeworm is a great second entry in the Lowtek canon, and I also want to point out how much I enjoy the gentle universe-building, it gives the games and brand cohesion and individuality.