This Platformer Lets You Switch Between 15 Different Art Styles On The Fly

By Chris Priestman . January 9, 2015 . 11:01am

Chester United is about cupcakes, inter-dimensional travelling, and vengeance. It’s also a platformer with 15 characters, 15 art styles, eight worlds and about 50 levels to beat.

Sure, you’ve probably played games with different art styles before, such as Evoland, for example. But the unique aspect of Chester United is that you can switch between art styles and characters on the fly. In fact, you have to at times in order to progress through parts of some levels.

Each art style and playable character in the game brings about visual and mechanical changes. So, normal Chester (the main character) fires weak, slow-moving projectiles. But Bit Chester is more like Mega Man as he fires more powerful pellets that can smash rocks that may be blocking the way. Other characters cause enemies to weaken, or platforms to slow down, or they may have a faster attack.

Other art styles include Sketch, LCD, Blueprint, BLOCK, “Dr. (Don’t) Sue Us”, and Tattoo. And the other characters don’t just come in humanoid form, as there’s a tank and a spaceship, as well as the sketch and blocky versions of Chester. The only catch is that you have to collect these art styles and playable characters inside the levels, and even then, you can only choose three of each to take with you when entering a new level. Still, trying out the different art styles and characters you collect lends the game to a degree of replayability.

Oh, and if you’re wondering, there is a story that explains why Chester is able to switch between these different worlds. Chester’s friend, The Bad Guy, has decided to start tearing up the fabric of the universe and has stolen Chester’s cupcakes. So Chester sets out to stop him (mainly to get his cupcakes back) and to do so he has to travel between dimensions while calling upon the help of his other-universe-selves.

If you want to check it out yourself, there’s a demo of Chester United that you can play in your web browser, or download for Windows, Mac, or Linux. You can find out more about the game on its website.