As an old-school arcade fan, and someone who sits literally 10 feet away from an arcade cabinet all day, I’ve really enjoyed how many great arcade-style indie games we’ve seen in this generation. While their quality may vary quite a bit, it has been refreshing to see so many alternative takes on classic gameplay and some newer ideas as well. In the case of Freddy Farmer we have a little of both, with the core play feeling very reminiscent of classic arcade platforming, but also a load of stages and an added level of overall complexity that takes this beyond being a run-of-the-mill arcade experience.

In the game your daughter has been abducted by an evil dragon, and in order to have any hope of saving her you’ll need to collect ingredients spread out across a number of areas that you’ll then mix into potions. The tricky part is, in order to get maximum effect out of each potion you’ll have to collect the ingredients in a very specific order, and that can sometimes be a challenge for the wrong reasons. Since merely touching any given ingredient will make you pick it up, unintentionally grabbing something you don’t want yet can be a consistent issue.

We won’t even get into why you can’t simply choose the order that you put what you’ve collected into the cauldron, but having you press a button to intentionally grab items would really have helped. I’ll also admit that in some stages I actually struggled to spot every ingredient as sometimes they ended up doing a fair job of blending into the scenery. These aren’t game killers, but there’s absolutely room for improvement.

The thing is, if you buy into the experience there’s simply a load of content here to discover, far more than most of its modern peers even. With 35 base levels, as well as a number of hidden special stages, and even some mini games, this is absolutely more of a meal than a mere snack. So there’s absolutely something to be said at the effort that has been put in to make the most of this budget-friendly affair. If you’re willing to simply embrace the challenge, and ignore a few kinks, the mix of a classic arcade base and a more legitimate long-term adventure makes for an interesting combination.