While perhaps it isn’t a surprise, given that the Switch is the console of Mario himself, there’s an abundance of platformers out there in the eShop. While more demanding precision platformers are only a subset of that total, it’s been wild to see how in this generation they’ve become more prevalent, no doubt buoyed by successes like Super Meat Boy, Celeste, and some others. To some degree I’d say that Sacre Bleu belongs in this category, as it will absolutely demand that you embrace its pretty wild mechanics, and you’ll need to up your skill game in order to conquer its many challenges. That said, the action that it promises outside of mere platforming tends to be enough fun that it brings a sense of satisfaction on multiple fronts, but don’t expect it to take it easy on you.

Having been wrongfully imprisoned in the Bastille, your goal is to secure your means for escape, apparently by working to construct an airship with the help of a fellow inmate who is also a scientist. In order to get around and defend yourself, you’ll be armed with a small arsenal of weapons, with your powerful blunderbuss being the most useful of the bunch. Handy for knocking down barriers, deflecting enemy fire, and propelling you around to reach higher places, it remains an essential tool to your platforming success in particular. The fact that when you use it the action will slow down quite a bit to help you aim it precisely is an incredible help, and is a big part of what makes so much of the precision aspect of the game work, especially when trying to reach secret areas or work through the game’s brutal challenge stages.

The thing is, aside from merely pushing your platforming skills, you’ll also have to be effective in combat, and that’s where more of the fun comes in. If anything, Sacre Bleu may offer you too many options when it comes to dispatching your foes. For the most part you’ll typically have more bullets and grenades than you’ll need, assuming you aren’t wasting them, and given that you will always have your sword and the ability of your blunderbuss to deflect ranged enemy attacks, you’ll usually have a great deal of latitude deciding how to take your enemies out. This sets the stage for some fun, getting to experiment with different tactics and not necessarily just going with the same plan every time. If nothing else, the fact that enemy combinations and groupings tend to continue to vary, will demand that you do some improvising whether you want to or not. Then there are the sometimes massive bosses you’ll need to deal with, requiring that you put together everything you’ve learned to combine your platforming and death-dealing skills to survive.

Put this all together and you have an action platformer that’s a bit of a breath of fresh air on the eShop. It’s demanding without being oppressively challenging. It offers more variety in its action than the majority of its contemporaries. It continues to throw surprises and some humor at you that help to keep you coming back for more. Now, I will say that there are times when I wish the camera wouldn’t be so pulled in when working on challenges, as that can make for nasty surprises you don’t see until it’s too late, but for the most part, I also can’t find any significant areas of complaint beyond that observation. This is just comfortable being its own thing, and does it well, so it has more than earned my respect and a hearty recommendation for a good time.