Maru’s Mission is one of those Game Boy platformers that nails the retro feel—tight controls, chunky pixel art, and just the right amount of "why is this jump so hard?!" frustration. You play as Maru, some little dude with a blaster and a death wish, bouncing between floating platforms while weird alien things try to knock you into pits.

The first level throws you right into it: you’re jumping over spikes, ducking under flying enemies, and figuring out the timing for those weird springboard things. The music’s got that classic bleep-bloop energy, and the backgrounds actually have some cool details if you stop rushing for half a second (which you won’t).

It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s solid—like if someone took the best parts of early Mega Man and Mario, mashed them together, and made it fit in your pocket. If you miss the days when games didn’t hold your hand, this one’s a good time.