“Alfredo’s Stupendous Surprise (Bandersnatch Edition)” by Paul Nicholas, original game by Tom Hall & John Romero.
“Will Alfredo get to his house? Will he get to blow out the candles on his cake? Will he die in some horrible death? Play his latest adventure and find out!”
This jam entry is a remake of Tom Hall’s and John Romero’s “Alfredo’s Stupendous Surprise” (which you can still play thanks to archive.org) published back in 1989. That fact alone shows off an amazing part of the jam culture: Small games reviving small games from three decades ago. Honestly, how cute is that? Even more adorable is the fact that Paul Nicholas made “Alfredo’s Stupendous Surprise (Bandersnatch Edition)” for the Toy Box Jam 2019, a jam that is hosted by Tom Hall himself. I could squee thanks to my excitement about this!
The game itself is pretty short, but incredibly funny. Alfredo just wanted to blow off the candles on a little cake. But just as he goes to do that, the cake screams for its mother. A giant as well as fairly angry pastry comes along and protects its little baby by blowing Alfredo far away. He just wants to go back to his house, but the path is filled with dangerous traps. At each scene, our hero has to decide for one of two options.
Will he jump over the hole or right into it? Is it wise to flip the switch upwards or would downwards be the better alternative? Should he drink from the left or the right cup? One option will always lead to his death, while the other will let him continue his simply hilarious journey. [PLAY]
