The first time you play Flea Jump you’re going to get confused. The second time you’re going to get the hang of it. By the third time you’re going to be locked in for a brand new, bouncing obsession.
No, this isn’t a game that’s going to go down in the annals of history, even among fleas, but there’s a wonderful rhythm to its one-finger endless platforming that pushes you to keep jumping, aiming for ever greater heights.
You control the game by swiping a finger around the screen, moving left and right to bounce on different bits of scenery. The controls take a moment to get used to, but their jittery-ness captures being a scritchy scratchy flea pretty darn well.
You’ve got to pick up vials of blood as you go, avoiding enemies and spikes and then depositing the blood at a checkpoint. If you die before reaching a checkpoint you’ll lose the blood you’ve got, although you can watch a video to get it all back if you want.
As you play you can spend the blood you’ve collected on power-ups. These include energy drinks that give you a massive boost upwards, shields that protect you when you’re hit, and magnets that suck blood up.
There’s something oddly addictive about Flea Jump, like scratching at an itch – you know you shouldn’t do it, but it feels real good. You’ll die, a lot, and then you’ll hop back in to try and get to the next checkpoint. Quests push you to keep playing, and give you bundles of blood when you complete them as well.
This is the perfect game to fill in those idle moments when you’re looking for a gaming fix but don’t want to play anything monumental. You can play for a few minutes, have a lovely time, then go and do something else. Flea Jump knows what it is, and it plays its part to almost perfection.
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