[b]6/10[/b]
A difficult foddian game about ascending as a gooey blob with a slingshot ability.
[b]What is it:[/b] A very difficult platformer. You play as a blob of goo with only one ability: you can shoot a tentacle, and if it can grab on something, it retracts pulling you up. If you let go while you are being pulled, you continue moving like you’ve been slingshot. You control the direction you shoot and when you release your grip, which affects how far you get thrown. That’s all you do, point and shoot. There's no walking, and you can only shoot while sitting still. The goal is to reach the exit at the top of the level, in every level.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3310049991
If you're not familiar with the “foddian” genre, it means very difficult, rage inducing, easy to fall back down and lose progress. And this delivers on the premise. I for one could only spend an hour (in 5-10 minute sessions) struggling between levels 2 and 3, but if you check other reviews it takes hundreds of hours to get close to the end. Still, the game is “fair”, if you fail it's only because you’re not good enough. It takes several hours to get used to the way the blob moves and develop an instinct for timing the release just right.
The first level is doable in a few tries, but level 2 already ramps up the difficulty a lot. It’s not even that big, just a big hill and a few platforms, but it’s so easy to overshoot and fly over the target, land on a slope and roll back down to the bottom. And if you do reach level 3, surprise, you’re not safe, you can easily fall back down to the bottom of level 2. Indeed, reaching the exit doesn't mean you're done with a level, they're all connected in a big tower, and you can easily fall down not just to the bottom of a level, but through a few levels.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3310050060
More things are added later, making it even more difficult: smaller and timed platforms, enemies hunting you down. As if it wasn't difficult enough to manage your trajectory, you also have to do it quickly and with the perfect rhythm.
I didn't spend too much time with it, I prefer games that don’t rely on perfect timing, but I liked what I saw so far.
[b]How hard is it:[/b] Very hard.
[b]How long is it:[/b] That I don’t know, but I have a feeling that there are just 10 levels or somewhere close to that, but just a few levels require tens (hundreds?) of hours to win.
[b]Level design:[/b] Good! Terrible (in a good way) obstacles, but always fair, with easy ways to fall down.
[b]Quality:[/b] OK for what it is. Good controls. A few A/V settings. Cloud saving. Progress and speedrunning achievements. Small, fast and responsive.
[b]Worth the price:[/b] Yes.
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