While budget side-scrolling action games in a more classic style are practically a dime a dozen at this point, there are still titles that manage to break through with a glimpse of greatness every once in a while. Whether that involves having some great visual flair, some new play or control mechanic that feels fresh and exciting, or just tight gameplay that compels you to keep going, there’s always room for great new games on the scene. Axel Quest, while it has some merits, unfortunately doesn’t fall into that category, and though it does offer a tougher-than-normal take on that classic style of play, it makes enough mistakes to keep it from being a contender.

What you get here is a pretty stock old-school side-scrolling action title, where you’ll be using a mix of platforming and some classic hack and slash to make your way through a progression of levels. Visually it isn’t anything to write home about, but it’s at least workable and consistent, and among its budget peers its style isn’t all that uncommon. The action is also for the most part what you’d expect, neither winning points for originality or allowing itself to get too terribly stale as you continue to make your way further.

The problem? Well, for starters, when in-game instructions on how to do something vital, like a downward attack, tell you to use the incorrect button things don’t get off to a great start. While I can also respect what seems to be a goal of making the game a little tougher than the norm, some of the choices for checkpoints being spaced pretty irregularly, requiring you to start over on what would normally be another level, are just odd. Throw in things like enemies that will fire projectiles from you while they’re still off the screen, and there’s an element of cheapness to it rather than doing the tougher work to design stage layouts that are a more legitimate challenge. Some people may still find it suits them, but there are enough inconsistencies here that it doesn’t get very high on my own personal list in the space.