Alpha & Beta

Alpha & Beta is a challenging 2D side-scrolling platformer that pays homage to classic arcade games while introducing modern touches. The game follows the story of two brothers, Alpha and Beta, whose relationship turns hostile due to Alpha’s greed, leading them to challenge each other to the death. Players navigate through 9 diverse worlds comprising 36 levels, 4 special stages, and 8 boss fights, facing 19 different enemies, numerous traps, and environmental puzzles. With simple controls, 7 distinct power-ups, and a high degree of difficulty, it promises a satisfying and lengthy gameplay experience.

Alpha & Beta: A Forgotten Tale of Fraternal Conflict

In the vast and ever-expanding archives of video game history, some titles are destined for the hall of fame, while others become footnotes—curious artifacts that speak volumes about the era that produced them. Alpha & Beta, a 2018 indie platformer, is one such artifact: a game built on a foundation of nostalgic ambition and a stark, almost brutalist, vision of classic difficulty. It is a title that asks not for celebration, but for understanding; a case study in the challenges of solo development and the eternal allure of the side-scrolling genre.

Development History & Context

Alpha & Beta emerged from the digital ether on November 15, 2018, a solitary creation by developer Alper Tuccar, who served as both the game’s publisher and its sole credited creator. Developed using the accessible GameMaker engine, the project was a product of its time—the indie boom of the 2010s, where tools like GameMaker and Unity democratized game development, allowing individual visionaries to bring their concepts to life and distribute them directly to a global audience via storefronts like Steam.

The gaming landscape in 2018 was one of extremes. On one end, blockbuster AAA titles offered cinematic, hand-holding experiences. On the other, a thriving indie scene celebrated a return to form, with games like Celeste and The End Is Nigh proving that meticulously crafted, punishing difficulty could be a marketable and artistically valid choice. It is into this latter category that Alpha & Beta desperately sought to place itself. Its official description explicitly courts “those who love old platform games,” positioning itself as a challenger in the ring of “hardcore” platforming. The technological constraints were largely self-imposed—a deliberate choice to work within the familiar, comfortable confines of 2D, side-scrolling, direct-control mechanics. This was not a game attempting to push polygonal boundaries; it was a game attempting to push the player.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

The narrative of Alpha & Beta is delivered with the succinct, almost mythic quality of an arcade cabinet’s attract mode. The Steam store description provides the entire lore: “Alpha and Beta are two brothers, but because of Alpha’s greed and efficacy, the two brothers became hostile to each other and challenged each other to death. Let’s see who’s winning…”

This simple premise is a powerful, if underdeveloped, core. It evokes classic tales of sibling rivalry like Cain and Abel, filtered through the lens of a video game boss battle. The use of the words “greed and efficacy” to describe Alpha’s failing is particularly intriguing. It suggests a brother who is not merely evil, but perhaps too competent, too driven, his ambition morphing into a venom that poisons the fraternal bond. The player is ostensibly cast in the role of one of these brothers, though the game intriguingly refrains from specifying which one, presenting the conflict as a pure, amoral duel. Thematically, the game explores the destructive nature of rivalry, the point where competition curdles into mortal conflict. It is a tragedy told not through cutscenes or dialogue, but through the very act of play—through the repeated deaths and struggles across its 36 levels, the player embodies this relentless, grinding hostility.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

Alpha & Beta proudly wears its genre on its sleeve. It is an Action / Arcade platformer in the most traditional sense. The core gameplay loop is a direct inheritance from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras: run, jump, and fight your way from the left side of the screen to the right, navigating enemy patterns and environmental traps.

The game’s structure is one of its most clearly defined aspects, featuring 9 worlds, 36 levels, 4 special levels and 8 boss fights. This is a substantial offering, promising a “long gameplay time” built on a foundation of “high degree of difficulty.” The arsenal includes 7 different power-ups and 19 different enemies, suggesting a variety of tactical situations and a gradual escalation of challenges.

However, the provided information hints at a potential chasm between ambition and execution. The promise of a “satisfying gaming experience” is directly tethered to its punishing difficulty, a design philosophy that walks a razor’s edge. When executed with the precision of a Super Meat Boy or the thoughtful design of Celeste, high difficulty creates a sublime sense of mastery. Without that precision, it can simply feel unfair and frustrating. The mention of “a some puzzling” indicates an attempt to blend platforming with light puzzle elements, a combination that can enrich the experience if the mechanics are deeply integrated, or hinder it if they feel tacked on.

World-Building, Art & Sound

As a purely speculative analysis based on the available data, the world-building and artistic direction of Alpha & Beta remain its greatest mysteries. The game is described as a 2D scrolling title with a side view, placing it firmly in a tradition that spans from Mario to Shovel Knight. Beyond this, there are no available screenshots, promo art, or detailed descriptions of its visual or auditory style.

We can infer its ambitions from its peers and its stated goals. To appeal to lovers of “old platform games,” it likely employs a pixel-art aesthetic, though the resolution and detail quality are unknown. The presence of multiple “worlds” suggests thematic variations in its environments—perhaps ice worlds, fire caves, and technological fortresses—each designed to introduce new enemy types and environmental mechanics. The sound design would be crucial in a game of this type; the satisfying thwip of a jump, the crunchy impact of an attack, and a driving chiptune soundtrack are essential components for maintaining player engagement through repetitive challenges. The absence of any data on these elements, however, leaves a critical void in any assessment of its overall atmosphere and effectiveness.

Reception & Legacy

The reception of Alpha & Beta is perhaps the most telling part of its story. As of the available information, the game has no critic reviews on Metacritic or MobyGames, and no user reviews on either platform. Its MobyScore is “n/a” and it has been “collected by 1 player” on the site. It was initially a commercial release but has since transitioned to a free-to-download model on Steam, often a sign of a developer abandoning monetization to hopefully find any audience at all.

Its legacy, therefore, is not one of influence or commercial success, but of obscurity. It serves as a poignant representative of the “long tail” of indie development—the thousands of games released every year that fail to find any significant traction. In this, it is an important historical artifact. It illustrates the immense challenge of visibility in the digital marketplace and the fact that a completed, released game is only half the battle; the other half is the monumental task of being seen, played, and remembered. Its legacy is a quiet one, a single data point in the study of indie game viability and the fierce competition for player attention.

Conclusion

Alpha & Beta is not a lost classic. Based on the available evidence, it is a game that likely fulfilled its basic technical promise—a difficult, lengthy 2D platformer—but failed to distinguish itself in a genre crowded with masterpieces. Its intriguing, minimalist narrative premise was ultimately let down by a lack of expressive execution, and its gameplay, while substantial in quantity, remains an unknown quantity in terms of quality and refinement.

Its final verdict is one of historical curiosity. For the dedicated game historian, it represents the sheer volume of content produced in the indie era and the stark reality that most games do not become successes. It is a reminder that for every Shovel Knight, there are countless Alpha & Betas: games built with passion on a shoestring budget, released into the silence of the marketplace. It is not a game to be sought out for a transformative experience, but as a fascinating footnote—a testament to the act of creation itself, and a sobering look at the quiet fate of most who try. Its place in video game history is on a dusty shelf in the vast library of obscurity, a single, simple story of two brothers forever locked in combat, waiting for an audience that never came.