For something that started with a monkey throwing barrels, the platformer has come a long way. Some, like Another World or Flashback, are Genuine Works of Art – with hauntingly beautiful graphics, an intuitive design, and a story that speaks volumes without uttering a word. Others, like Starbound, allow you to galaxy-hop your way through a procedurally generated world that is, theoretically, endless, fighting and exploring or (if you feel like it) hanging out with your cat, planting a garden, fishing or — building a house on a snowy hillock.

Not bad for a 2D side-scroller, eh?

While it is limited in scope by a small team and a wee little budget (the game was made by 12 university students on about 36K USD – an amount larger studios spend on the weekend coffee run; for comparison, Mass Effect had a budget of 2.9M USD and Mass Effect 2 – about 40M), Dex is a prime example of what a "mere platformer" can accomplish. It is a great little game, whose only shortcomings are its brevity and a lack of incentive to replay.

You play the eponymous Dex: a blue-haired mystery hacker who wakes from a virtual chat straight into the worst kind of trouble. Pursued by a squad of armored soldier-types, you are told by an unknown benefactor to leg it to a seedy part of town and find a guy called Decker.

The escape from your apartment serves as a tutorial, explaining basic controls, and your descent into the lower reaches of Harbor Prime – as neatly integrated credits. Then you are left to explore a city that oozes atmosphere and offers many interesting places to explore, without overstaying its welcome.

While Harbor Prime isn't that big (the city has about a dozen "regions", each of which takes a few minutes to stroll through, end to end), each one offers enough beautiful artwork, interesting characters and nooks to explore to feel substantial. There are also some areas that you will find early on, but will be unable to fully explore (mostly due to environmental hazards), which give you a reason to double back later, once Dex can, say, breathe toxins or jump higher than your average kangaroo (thanks to a few of the 17 available cybernetic enhancements).

As befits an action RPG, Dex allows some character development through the leveling up of eight skills. Endurance expands your sprite's HP and allows her to isntall more cybernetic implants; Melee stretches the length of your combos, unlocks new moves and increases hand to hand damage; Ranged ups your accuracy and unlocks more powerful guns (firing has a touch of the DeusEx, skill-based RNG to it); Hacking makes your life easier in the hacking mini-game; leaving Lockpicking, Charisma, Barter and AR (which lets you hack people) to round out the list.

As skill lists go, it's not extensive and, honestly, only the first 4 skills offer non-binary returns, but – for the scope of the game – it's enough to keep things interesting and allow for goal-oriented builds (why fight someone or have to run errands for them to get a key, when you can just talk them into handing it over?).

In terms of Things To Do, Dex offers about 40 quests, and – if you want to do everything you possibly can – might take you 18-20 hours to complete. The game is at its best when you are just running around, exploring. The main plot, while serviceable, will hold your interest for about 2/3s of the game and then sorta fall flat towards the end.

True to the genre, combat takes center-stage in many of Dex's quests. Fighting hand-to-hand is straightforward, with a roll for getting out of the way, a block and four attack types (LMB combo, that gets longer with more points invested in Melee; a leg sweep to knock people over; a high-kick that's slow, but packs a wallop at range; and a jump kick). You can also perform a takedown if you manage to sneak up on an unsuspecting enemy. Shooting, on the other hand, is done using one of 6 guns in-game and is more realistic than fun (you move slower with a weapon drawn, have to stop to reload, and draw your gun so methodically, Doc Holiday could catch a nap in the interim).

Hacking is handled via a pew-pew mini game, that's a nice (if shallow) diversion which offers a chance to score bonus XP, some money and background information. The ability to hack not only static computers, but cameras, turrets and people is a nice addition that adds a little variety to the game.

The artwork, music, character design, and world-building of Dex are its greatest features and it is clear that the game was made by people who cared deeply about what they were making. A lot of the special effects are recycled (every time something exploded, I had Operation Flashpoint flashbacks), but the voice acting is very good and the music fits the gameplay to a tee – setting the mood for certain scenes, intensifying for combat, then fading into the background until a point needs reinforcing once again.

Honestly, Dreadlocks (the studio that made Dex) is the sort of developer I would have loved to see on a much bigger budget. If, in a given year, instead of yet another Battlefield, there was a greatly expanded, mega-city-scale Harbor Prime, with more locations, quests, an expanded inventory, a deeper hacking mechanic and More Things To Do, the world would be better for it (in my humble opinion). You wouldn't even have to change the engine, as the one Dex runs on already has everything you would need to field a much larger game.

But even in its present abbreviated form, the world of Dex is well-worth a visit. It might be more appetizer than four-course meal, but – as appetizers go – it's the sort you'll enjoy, all the while yearning for a bigger serving of same.

Pig Recommends:

• Another World and Flashback – these two Delphine Software classics pushed the boundaries of what a platformer could be; Another World, with its stunning art, lifelike animation, mysterious alien world, and the ability to wordlessly tell a complex story; and Flashback for object permanence (Conrad, the game's protagonist, had an inventory), great level design and intuitive puzzles; thirty years post-release, these two games are still eminently playable and can be found on GOG; if you haven't played them before but like platformers with a little extra something, these two come highly recommended;

• Starbound – while I could list its component parts (action-RPG platformer, survival sandbox with building elements, side-scrolling robot shooter that also lets you fish, cook, collect insects, or exhibit interesting fossils); the best way to sum up Starbound is to call it an entertaining anomaly that eats time; if you like your space exploration with a lot of sidelines, you oughta give Starbound a go;