That said, I really, really enjoyed the game…if indeed ‘enjoyed’ is the right word. Does it matter if it’s a tree that collapses on you or spiky camel or stalactite? The levels are quite short and punchy however, and the game does change up this pattern later on with some pretty hallucinogenic sections in act 4 (there are 6 acts in total) which really are a welcome change as, although the dangers change, a lot of the patterns, tricks and traps repeat themselves. This pattern repeats a lot and, whilst initially fun, it does become a grind as feel like you may as well just blindly run forward, setting everything off and then just remember what happened so you can make it incrementally further on subsequent attempts. Then you dodge the light by edging towards it and moving away as it falls to see a puddle beyond it, thinking that this spelt death (it did), I cleverly jumped the puddle only to be killed by spikes shooting out of the floor. To give an example at the start of the game you run along a corridor and a light collapses on you. Each time you die, a ‘death report’ pops up on screen and it tells you what kicked your bucket. This means that the vast chunk of the game is pretty stripped-back in terms of what the character is capable of and boils down to a memory test. Presented in a 2D platforming style, for the most part, aside from running left to right, the only other movement in Timmy’s gymnastic arsenal is to jump. There are checkpoints scattered around upon which, I assure you, you will exhale with relief when you pass (there’s also a ‘goldfish mode’ which makes the checkpoints more frequent…which I may have used at certain points…who’s to say?) but aside from this, it’s you against everything in the entire world. Rage in Peace is a game in which you will die so, so many times (at one teeth-grinding section later in the game, I racked up over 350 deaths on one part alone…the game handily keeps a counter of your demises in the top-left corner…yay) that it almost loses meaning. Timmy’s typically inert response to this is to just want to get home and die alone in bed with no drama, thus the game begins. The game begins with Timmy arriving at the bank where he works as an actuary, only to be visited by a very chirpy Grim Reaper with an irritating laugh who promptly informs him that this is his last day on Earth and he is due to die by having his head cut off, wowsers. Rage in Peace tells the story of 27 year old Timmy Malinu, and boy, this dude is existential ennui in a shirt and tie. Rage in Peacetakes a lot of inspiration from ‘trial and error’ platformers such as Super Meat Boy (which it directly references) and, of course… Rick Dangerous (I mention it because I can), but Rage in Peace focuses on a surprisingly in-depth narrative behind the grind and this elevates it somewhat above other types of game in this most challenging of genres.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |