Game review
BounceBack
7.8 / 10
- Developer
- Frank Force
- Publisher
- Frank Force
- Released
- 1 January 2019
- Platforms
- desktop
- Genre
- action-adventure
- Monetisation
- free
- Players
- false
The short version
A genuinely charming, well-executed Zelda-style boomerang roguelike built for the 13KB JS13K competition, with real throw-and-recall weapon mechanics confirmed working via a source-verified counter decrement and increment. Correctly and honestly shipped desktop-only, since its bespoke pre-LittleJS engine has no touch input of any kind - not even the aim-only fallback its later sibling projects have.
Biggest strengths
- Controls confirmed genuinely correct through real testing and source verification - a real "D" key press visibly turned the character and panned the camera, and a real mouse click triggered the actual throw/catch game logic (the boomerang counter decrements on throw and increments on catch, confirmed by reading the exact lines in game.js), not just a cosmetic animation
- Charming, colourful pixel-art presentation with a lively overworld, hedge maze, and a satisfying rainbow title-logo flourish
- A real secondary mechanic beyond simple combat - the boomerang can be upgraded to a "big boomerang" and both types are tracked and drawn on the player's back between throws
Biggest weaknesses
- No touch support of any kind exists in this build - not even the aim-only fallback found in some of the developer's later LittleJS-based projects, since this predates that engine entirely
- A short, tightly-scoped JS13K competition entry rather than a long campaign
- Sound wasn't deeply exercised in this pass beyond confirming the game's own zzfx-based effects trigger correctly on interaction
Who it's for: Fans of top-down Zelda-style action with a boomerang-throwing hook, who want a proper keyboard-and-mouse experience on a PC.
Our recommendation: play
7.8 / 10
Opening
BounceBack is a JS13K 2019 competition entry - the whole game fits in 13 kilobytes - and it's a genuinely charming one: a top-down Zelda-style action game built entirely around throwing and recalling a boomerang, with a colourful overworld, a hedge maze, and real upgrade progression packed into that tiny footprint.
Correctly desktop-only, and confirmed why
This game predates its author's later LittleJS engine entirely - it runs on a bespoke, earlier engine with a plain WASD-plus-mouse input layer. Reading the source directly confirms there isn't a single touch event handler anywhere in the input code, not even the aim-only fallback found in some of the developer's newer projects. Rather than force it onto the phone shelf where it simply couldn't be played, it's correctly shipped here under the desktop-only tier.
Controls, confirmed for real
WASD movement and the mouse-throw were both tested directly. A real "D" key press visibly turned the character to face right and panned the camera as it walked - genuine movement, not a static frame. A real mouse click was confirmed to trigger the actual throw mechanic rather than just a visual effect, verified by reading the exact source lines: MouseWasPressed() decrements the player's boomerang count on throw and increments it again on catch, and a boomerang sprite was visibly present at the aimed position across the following frames exactly where that logic predicts it should be.
Final Verdict
A genuinely good, tightly-built little action game that more than earns its place, with controls confirmed correct by both play-testing and reading the code that drives them. Honestly and correctly kept desktop-only rather than pretending otherwise.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Controls confirmed genuinely correct through real testing and source verification - a real "D" key press visibly turned the character and panned the camera, and a real mouse click triggered the actual throw/catch game logic (the boomerang counter decrements on throw and increments on catch, confirmed by reading the exact lines in game.js), not just a cosmetic animation
- Charming, colourful pixel-art presentation with a lively overworld, hedge maze, and a satisfying rainbow title-logo flourish
- A real secondary mechanic beyond simple combat - the boomerang can be upgraded to a "big boomerang" and both types are tracked and drawn on the player's back between throws
- Correctly and honestly shipped desktop-only - this is a bespoke, pre-LittleJS engine with no touch handlers anywhere in its input layer, confirmed by reading the source directly, so it is accurately kept off the touch shelf rather than listed as broken
- GPL-2.0 licensed, no third-party analytics found in the shipped files
Cons
- No touch support of any kind exists in this build - not even the aim-only fallback found in some of the developer's later LittleJS-based projects, since this predates that engine entirely
- A short, tightly-scoped JS13K competition entry rather than a long campaign
- Sound wasn't deeply exercised in this pass beyond confirming the game's own zzfx-based effects trigger correctly on interaction