Overview – developed by Male Doll and published by Eastasiasoft, Love Chemistry – Sibella’s Formula is a side scrolling platformer where an unhinged scientist goes on a chaotic adventure. As Sibella, traverse a variety of locations and use the syringe shooter, blasting robots, man eating plants and people wandering around to subdue them. This title is available on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, with a link to each version at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Eastasiasoft for providing the copy of Love Chemistry – Sibella’s Formula that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story. Please note, I will be referring to the game with the shortened name of Love Chemistry, this is for the sake of brevity.
Story – the mad scientist Sibella has finally completed her formula, a special mixture that will drive people crazy. After completing her work on this experimental formula, she decides to set out and test it to see the effects it has. Loading up her shooting bracelet with syringes full of her formula, she sets out on a mission to get the results she is looking for. She starts her quest out at the university she works at, ready to unleash chaos upon the staff and students.
Gameplay – Love Chemistry is a side scrolling action platformer, with run and gun style action, in a manner similar to that of Mega Man. The player controls Sibella, the mad scientist and guides her through the perilous locations, including the University she works at. Each of the stages are rather large, with sections that are linked together via checkpoints. As the player makes their way through the zones, they will encounter various dangers.
The most common of these threats are the robotic foes, including flying bots, snail-like proximity mines and blaster turrets. These foes will bet scattered throughout each of the zones, starting off rather easy but becoming more challenging the further the player gets. Then there are the biological enemies, with humans including the university attendees and police, alongside monsters like man-eating plants and lizard people.
To fight off all the enemies, the player can use their Syringe bracelet to shoot enemies. The player can make three shots at once when rapid firing, with a brief delay between shots. While making shots, they can pass through the level, hitting enemies behind walls and ledges, letting players be cautious. When shooting the robots, when enough damage is dealt, the robot will explode but be careful as some of them will leave traps behind.
When battling the biological creatures, dealing enough damage to them will cause them to fall in love and incapacitate them. As an enemy is in the love state, the player will be able to interact with them, causing a brief animation to play. For the humans, Sibella will hug or kiss them during the animation, whereas the creatures will react as if they have become Sibella’s pets. The first time each of these animation plays, they will be added to the gallery.
If the player takes damage, they can recover health by collecting green life capsules from enemies. The enemies are not the only threat to the player, as there will be environmental hazards that will instantly kill Sibella. These consist of spikes and thorns, which will be scattered throughout the stages, often with tight platforming and ladder climbs tied to them. In the event that the player dies, they will be sent back to the last checkpoint reached.
At set points in each of the large levels, the player will encounter a boss, which will battle Sibella in an enclosed arena. Each of the boss battles have their own special attacks, including a boss that will rain down blasts on the player and one that has attacks that trail the ground. These battles can be tense and challenging, but if the player is able to defeat them, they will be awarded with a new weapon they can use based on the special attack.
There are four additional weapons that can be collected, which can be toggles between at any time after they have been unlocked. However, using them comes at a cost, as each of the weapon upgrades has an energy bar, which depletes when used. The amount of energy needed for an attack varies, making it important to use weapons responsibly. To refill the energy, players must pick up pink capsules which can be dropped by enemies.
If the player runs out of lives, they will be sent back to the main menu with the option to continue. When continuing play, the player will be sent to the start of the stage they died on, losing all of the progress for the current stage. The player has a limited number of lives, which carries over between stages but they are not reset when continuing, keeping the same number as when that stage started. Thankfully, there are plenty of lives in the stages to pick up.
The game does feel rather short, only taking a few hours to clear, but there is plenty of challenge on offer. There is a lot of tough platforming, with tight small ledges that players must go between, as well as enemies that will make it tougher. There is also an auto scrolling section, which is pretty tough with the player being chased in a tight tunnel section. The game does have some replay value, with two difficulty settings to select from.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – there is an easy to pick up and use input system for this release, with traditional run and gun/platforming controls. The player can use the thumbstick or d-pad to move, with the face buttons to jump and shoot. The shoulder buttons control the weapon switching, making it easy to swap attacks on the fly during the stages. All of the input for this release are responsive, with no issues in terms or lag or delay during play.
Difficulty – there are two difficulty settings for Love Chemistry, with the option for Normal Mode and Hard Mode which is selected when starting a new game. In the Normal Mode, the player will start the game with 6 lives, as well as more frequent checkpoints during the stages of the game. When playing the Hard Mode, there are fewer lives for players and the checkpoints appear less frequently, increasing the challenge significantly for the game.
Presentation – Love Chemistry has a rather pleasant look to it, with decently sized sprites that make it easy to see the character and enemies. There is a good use of color for this release also, having some vibrant environments, while having relatively simple details to prevent them from feeling cluttered. The sound is decent, with some good music and effects that work well for the release, rounding out the whole experience quite well.
Final Thoughts – I do enjoy the side scrolling action genre, with games like Mega Man, Metal Slug and others being games that I return to often. So Love Chemistry appealed to my interests and it was a lot of fun to play, with an enjoyable gameplay loop. It is a rather limited game experience, with a few hours of gameplay, what the game offers is worth the entry fee. It has a level of silliness to it, with the smoochy animations adding to the fun.
It does feel like the developer was going for something a little more lewd, as it has elements that would be seen in an adult game. But this doesn’t hinder the experience, as it gives it a silly comedic feel. The game isn’t perfect however, as some enemy placements can feel unfair, the enemies respawn constantly and when continuing, lives can be scarce. But overall, I can recommend this as it is a rather decent game that won’t break the bank for players.
In the end, I give Love Chemistry – Sibella’s Formula, a final score of 4/5. This is a challenging and rather well made run and gun platformer, offering a lot of silly fun, tricky boss battles and plenty of gameplay content in a budget friendly package. If you want to check this game out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
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