Freeware Garden: Until I Have You
And now it has us.
So you seem to have been cast as the grim hero who'll save the distressed damsel once again, but please, worry not. Until I Have You, despite lacking in the plot department, is different in other ways. In this case it's through the mechanics that the game differentiates itself, as it's a platformer in which you move the mouse pointer to accelerate towards the direction of your choice, click one mouse button to shoot and the other to jump, and click on the scroll button to cycle through your weapons.
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Plus, its cyberpunk atmosphere and cinematic scenes do look lovely and appropriately dark and futuristic.
It's a novel yet demanding control scheme that can make things exceedingly difficult when you have to jump and shoot in quick succession and with precision. Then again, I love it when people approach old formulas differently. And I do love the game's toughness. It's something you can teach yourself to handle, as with enough perseverance you will eventually become skillful enough to make it to the end. Also, when you get really, really good at it you should be able to pull off some pretty impressive speed-runs. I almost did too.
Once.
Through the second level.
Even if you desperately fail you'll be able to appreciate the sleekness of it all. The parallax scrolling, great art and the 2D effects, the moving platforms, bosses and a particularly enjoyable selection of enemies should at the very least inspire you to give Until I Have You a try.