Review - Proxy Adventure: Small Test

Publisher: UAIGolem

Developer: UAIGolem

Available on: PC

Proxy Adventures: Small Test is low-res, buggy, and not fully what it bills itself; however, it also contains a surprising depth, has a high replay value, and yet is still bite-sized enough to benefit from the “one-more-turn” fallacy that makes you wonder how it got dark outside already.

First, let us get the obvious out of the way. The graphics are reminiscent of the Atari 2600 – specifically Spitfall! – which is not a dig. It might not come as a surprise, but the first place I found the Proxy Adventures: Small Test Demo was on a little site called Newgrounds – yes, that Newgrounds is still around. For those who played this demo from 2022 just know the creator UAIGolem has made a lot of changes and it’s no longer the same game.

The demo had your character automatically walking to the right and attacking. The player could attach equipment and spend points on upgrades, the former of which would be lost and the latter of which would remain for re-spec each run. That was all. Now, Small Tests retains some assets but has fundamentally evolved into something else.

In Small Test the premise is simple: you control a Proxy who will auto-move and auto-attack – familiar so far. After that, the differences abound. First, there are some manual inputs for active skills and crouching, but there is still no jumping or other typical side-scrolling adventure action. Equipment now is limited to weapons – which carry over between runs if found – and active skills that you get a random choice of three and are lost after each run. The world is no longer a linear path but contains vertical and hidden areas as well.

The main hook of the demo was the limited interaction with your Proxy. However, honestly, in Small Test, the auto-moving, which is still one of the first bullets in the game’s description, is more a hindrance than a selling point. Figuring out how to stop and gain better control of the Proxy is now one of the game’s most frequent challenges. Coming in second is the occasional catching on steps suspended in the air, floating enemies, and even the occasional crash.

However, despite those setbacks, the desire to play another run remains.

While Small Test has moved away from its Newgrounds origins and vision, where it shines is it has distilled the rouge-like side-scrolling genre down to its simplest – purest? – form. Each level takes a minute or two to finish and each run offers data points to collect and grind to unlock upgrades to the Proxy. However, each level also hides a series of hidden areas, enemies, and rewards that lead you to replay and explore each one multiple times and go back to areas you thought were completed already. The Proxy can hold only two weapons at a time, so trying out new combinations and strategies is encouraged.

Proxy Adventures: Small Test has come a long way from its demo. It’s delved more into the side-scrolling adventure genre and deviated from the web-based-barely-interactive game origins. As you play and explore, you’ll be surprised at how well Small Tests has balanced the simplicity and the complexity of its genres.

First impressions are hard to overcome, but Proxy Adventures: Small Tests overcomes its setbacks and makes a good second impression. It’s not polished, but the one-man developer UAIGolem has created a solid bite-sized rogue-like side-scrolling adventure game. Small Tests is worth the latte-size price point for a few hours of frustrating fun, but beyond that will be interesting to see what this indie developer comes up with next.

PROXY ADVENTURE: SMALL TEST IS RECOMMENDED