For whatever reason, beards aren’t particularly common among video game protagonists. Certain stealth or action game heroes sometimes sport them (or at least heavy 5 o’clock shadow) but actual occurrences of thick, hirsute facial hair among leading men are somewhat rare. Whether it’s just an example of the casual influence of hipster aesthetic bleeding into game culture or just a response to Mario, we suspect the developers behind Kami Retro decided to go with a bearded protagonist to add a hair of uniqueness to its familiar design.

A 2D retro-styled title that’s equal parts Lemmings and Mario vs. Donkey Kong (only starring a Minecraft-esque Chuck Norris lookalike), Kami Retro may stick a tried-and-true formula, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its own challenge or charm. Much like Mario vs. Donkey Kong, the goal is simple: navigate a number of small men (which we’re just going to go ahead and call kamis, despite the irony the name lends their powerlessness) through the treacherous obstacles of any given stage to its goal. Like Nintendo’s series, this is handled through manipulation of objects the kamis can interact with. They can jump from springboards they can jump from, for example, and fans will increase the distance of a leap. However, unlike Mini-Marios, kamis are controlled directly, with directional swipe controls to turn around or jump.

Gameplay is also simple: before starting a level, you’re given time to analyze its layout. Things won’t be too taxing at first. You may have to jump your kamis (which are distributed from a home point one at a time and in regular intervals) over a few chasms to reach the level goal. Difficulty ramps up quickly, as new mechanics are introduced and level layouts become more devious. As it progresses, Kami Retro also begins to require a great deal of finesse; for instance, if you place a springboard off just a little too far to one side, a kami may not be able to make a jump, or if you jump them too early, then the game’s dynamic physics may result in a fatally altered falling trajectory after your kami hits a ceiling at a slightly miscalculated angle. Thankfully, the touch controls make object readjustments easy, and even if you lose all your kamis on a stage, all your most recent arrangements will be just how you left them when you choose to retry.

Kami Retro can be pretty taxing at times, but if you play your cards right (and given the fact that you’re generally given enough time to navigate a kami through a whole level before the next one pops out) the challenge will be relegated to getting enough full-star ratings per level to unlock some of the later stages. But if a challenging, retro-themed throwback with blocky, colorful aesthetic sounds good to you, it’s worth a look.

The bottom line. Kami Retro is a fun and tough little puzzle platformer with aesthetic charm to spare.