Dyna Bomb gives a favorable first impression, especially for a game selling at a modest $5.99. Its colorful, vibrant artwork, eight worlds with eight levels each, cool robotic threats, smooth control, various powerups, and more suggest a fun, polished action platformer. Unfortunately, its arcade inspiration results in a lack of player options, a misguided choice that dampens the fun.

Despite appearances to the contrary, Dyna Bomb is strictly linear. It’s an unnecessary decision, one that leads to much repetition. As new mechanics don’t seem to be introduced, I see no excuse for not giving freedom to at least choose any level within a world. It would bring a bit of welcomed variety to the gameplay which sees you repeatedly flying about (unlimitedly) flinging bombs at enemies, avoiding dangers, and using warps to search for treasure and the exit key.

Dyna Bomb is also timed – for what purpose I do not know – as it doesn’t seem to add anything positive. I could see it for speedrunning on replay if it were it optional, but being mandatory forces you to rush (“making a mad dash for the exit”) when you might rather explore. Rushing is also not good as a single hit results in failure, and with no checkpoints unless purchased.

Combine these aforementioned things with tiny hit detection windows, hard to see threats (due to blockage, scrolling, or zoom), and no choices for difficulty levels, and you have a game that soon wears out its welcome in tedium. An option or two presented to players could’ve gone a long way in lessening, or even eliminating this, giving Dyna Bomb some staying power

As it is, the levels in Dyna Bomb, while not bad, aren’t fun or interesting enough to sustain repetitive trial-and-error gameplay. So, this is an average Switch game at present, one that could be quite good if it had a bit more polish. Perhaps a welcomed patch will arrive, with options that push this game’s mobile origins further to the backside. Meanwhile, despite a number of positives, I’d wait for a sale if the game strikes your fancy, as it doesn’t leave much of a lasting impression right now.