Mainframes Review: A Code Like Never Before

Imagine being stuck inside a Windows 98 computer floppy, and your whole purpose of rescuing system daemons left abandoned because of an in-depth lore that almost coincides with the history of our actual world. This rather wild imagination is instead put together in an unbelievably charming pixel art style format as a platformer game called Mainframes.

Mainframes is developed by Assoupi and published by The Arcade Crew. The game was released today, March 6, 2025, for Steam (PC) and Nintendo Switch. The fact that a game of this incredible quality is the work of an independent developer has already blown our minds, but it’s time to dive right into Gameffine’s review for Mainframe.

BSOD Who?

Becoming a floppy disc is no easy feat. NASA sent the first astronauts to the moon with 4KB RAM. Competing against today’s form of storage devices would be an overkill, but if a floppy disc without a program is tasked with rescuing every single daemon in a dormant server of 8 computers, then no parkour challenge stands too tall in front of a floppy disc. In Mainframes, you are randomly rescued by a humble penguin who seems to be a vital part of the entire system with an essential responsibility. All storage devices like your floppy discs are supposed to have a program inside, but you don’t.

In pursuit of happiness by finding your real need and truth, you now seek the system admin, but getting in touch with her requires a trip around 8 planets, or systems in this case. Each system has their threats to deal with, mechanics to surf around the database and numerous processes of daemons to rescue and bring back to the break room.

Now that I’ve mentioned the break room, it’s a centralized place initially created for Daemons to take breaks after their primary tasks were completed, but never found their way back. Thus, giving you the grand task of being the saviour from the endless labour of multithreading processes in overclocked and underpaid circumstances, you bring back the daemons into the break room.

Undiscovered threats, even more, grasping lore, unauthorized conversations and many more secrets await your exploration in the world (servers) of mainframes.

Overclocked Mechanics

Mainframes offer a robust form of mechanics with something extraordinarily new at every level. Your character is vividly smooth, making precision an intensely crucial part of this platforming adventure. Equipped with a double jump, your character is individually pretty much on his own for the first few levels in the game, but has to alter and capitalize on his surroundings to travel across the levels.

You can cling and re-use a vertical wall to make far-end jumps, and you can also cross the button, which can be pressed to give you a boost mid-air, acting as a placeholder for a reset, therefore allowing one more double jump traversal from that point. But as you progress more into the game, you will unlock the ability to move an entire platform with the cursor. Placing these at vital spots allows you to cross the level or even access secret screens, which hold daemons awaiting your rescue.

These mechanics get even more tense as you progress, with disappearing windows, which are linear and appear with a certain action, but will immediately start disappearing, therefore forcing you to plan and remember platforms, and your approach all the while dodging barriers which can eliminate you with a single hit.

Right from level two, the difficulty gets its grasp on the player, and Mainframes does not shy away from correctly displaying its outlook of being a fairly difficult video game. On a scale of 4-5, if Mario is a 1 and Astrobot is a 2, then Mainframes is a 3. So please don’t go hating on the game, if you are struggling with the levels.

Overall, the mechanics of the game are splendid and extremely polished. Again, the fact that this is at an individual level puts many platformers in the past few years to shame. Every frame or section in the game makes you want to wait and plan your approach in a skilful style, and perfectly timed action is the only way you’re getting through.

The only back draw I could spot in the game was if I could play minigames I found in the break room, and the ability to go to the break room anytime instead of pausing the game.

I could see this All Day.

Mainframes has an incredibly peaceful and charming design. Your floppy is a very animated protagonist who is very similar to Rotom from Pokemon. The entire game itself feels like a chill cat-cafe game, but the difficulty speaks otherwise. The game allows you to collect friends throughout the level, making sure you’re not alone in the game.

The art style and the matching OST are the perfect balance this universe needs. Lo-fi has become very popular in recent years, but the quality has dropped massively over the years. But the game’s composition and BGM of each level immediately captivate you and help you be hooked to the game for hours. This is perfectly complimented by the very organic, zen and pixel-styled backgrounds and level designs.

Special mention and cheers to the entire UI/UX of Mainframes for doing a stellar job.

Verdict

Mainframes is an extremely creative, masterpiece in its art-style and soundtrack and a fairly difficult platformer about a floppy disc on a mission of finding its purpose all the while rescuing overworked daemons. This charming platformer set inside your grand-mothers Windows 98 can immediately hook you in with its amazing polish and challenging platforming sections. TLDR: GO GET THE GAME NOW!