‘D*Fuzed’ Stops Bombs From Blasting Robot Buddies

D*Fuzed needs you to carefully defuse bombs before the time limit runs out or else you and your robot buddies might get blown up.

It is not often that I play Game Boy games! I am sure that those who are not in the retro gaming community don’t often find themselves picking up a Game Boy and trying out new games that are made for them. However, D*Fuzed is a modern-made retro game where you are a small robot, looking to save your friends.

You start off at the beach and slowly work your way through a forest, into a factory, and eventually to a space ship. The levels themselves are simple in concept. As Deef, a bomb-defusing robot, you are looking to make your way to bombs to pick them up before the number on them reaches zero and they explode. This is easier said than done, as one wrong move can leave you in the blast zone! There aren’t a set number of bombs to collect. Instead each time you move, you use a bit of energy from your huge bar of power. You will need to collect enough bombs to fully charge up that energy to complete the level.

D*Fuzed isn’t just about the bombs. As you move through the different worlds, there are various hazards that need to be avoided. Lava will flow down paths, giant lasers will blast after a set number of moves, and things will fall from the sky. One wrong move and you will be forced to restart that level. Even with all of these hazards, the game itself doesn’t feel too punishing.

The progression between the zones is quite fun as well, going from a more simple level introducing new mechanics or hazards that comes with that zone, then moving on to more chaotic levels. At the end of each zone in D*Fuzed, you will find a friend and then need to take on one final round with your friend following behind you. So you’ll need to watch out for both of you.

In between these different levels, there are completely voiced microscreens that add to the story of your lost friends and your need to get rid of the bombs. I found these pixel art scenes to be stunning and the story itself was extremely charming, adding to the levels themselves.

D*Fuzed is available now and can be purchased on the developer’s website as a physical Game Boy game or a digital download.

About The Author

Jupiter Hadley

Jupiter is a prolific indie game journalist, writing for Metro UK, Big Boss Battle, AlphaBetaGamer, and many more, all with a focus on smaller indie gems. She covers thousands of game jams and indie games on her YouTube channel, letting every game have a moment in the spotlight. She runs indiegamejams.com, a calendar of all of the game jams going on in the world, judges many jams and events.