Parents' Guide to Flynn: Son of Crimson

This is just a story about a boy and his dog … if that boy was the heir to a legendary power and his dog was a mythical guardian. Okay, so maybe Flynn: Son of Crimson is a little more than that. The game's a retro love letter to classic side scrolling platform adventures of days past. It strikes a lot of the right chords, balancing easy to learn gameplay with a fair amount of challenge for both your reflexes and your puzzle solving skills. It's also got an art style that blends the pixelated look of the past with a more flowing movement that old school games could never quite pull off. It all makes for a fun adventure, at least for a while.

If there's one issue to be had with Flynn: Son of Crimson, it's that the game as a whole feels a bit light. The story, while entertaining, also seems formulaic and predictable. Right from the game's opening moments, you can already guess where things are heading. The game also has a habit of explaining certain things after the fact. You'll get access to an ability you're expected to use, discover how to use it through trial and error, and then get an explanation for what you've already figured out. It's almost as if the game is telling the player, "Oh, did I forget to mention you can do this?" Finally, the game is quite short. It's not something you'll need to invest a lot of time in to complete, but that actually works in its favor. As it stands, it feels like it's just the right size. If it were much longer, it would start to get repetitive and even frustrating. If it were any shorter, though, it wouldn't feel nearly as satisfying as it is.