Platform Reviewed: PC
Platforms Available: PC, PS4
Publisher: Infinite Monkeys Entertainment Ltd.
Developer: Infinite Monkeys Entertainment Ltd.
Release Date: May 17, 2016
MSRP: $12.99 (Php. 379.95)
The platformer-puzzle adventure genre is one of my favorites, but is not something I really adore until the game gets me enticed. This is a rather mixed feeling of getting hooked up and plainly amused but not something that I can play through a couple of hours in a day – then life goes on after I turn off my PC/console.
It’s like Team Meat’s Super Meat Boy, every stage has a certain time target for you to beat. You have to find a way through the wall of a linear fire, push buttons to activate certain mechanisms, and open walls to retrieve what supposed to be the “Cup of Life”. At first, the game may mislead you to think that it involves action or sword-swinging moments. No, it doesn’t. Life Goes On – Done to Death is a puzzle-platformer by heart that encourages you to sacrifice a lot of your knights making them your bridges and ladders just to acquire the Cup of Life.
The game starts off with an interesting beginning at The Mines on the chapter “Straight to the Point” where it actually makes you think “wait what?” as your first knight jumps into an underground place with a bed of spikes that kills him/her – it’s also nice to note that each knight has a name indicated below the screen. Then it becomes clear what you simply need to do is to use your knights-in-glossy armor in every sadistic way possible just to accomplish your goal – to get the Cup of Life. The death toll in Life Goes On actually gets interestingly bigger and bigger each time you experiment on how you can solve each challenging puzzle.
Speaking of “challenging”, each stage actually gets complex as you progress through the game. There are also unique and very interesting mechanisms to solve the puzzles in each location: The Mines, The Mountains, The Castle, and more. The Mines features more on the use of canons, the Mountains encourages you to freeze your knights to make a path or to be able to pass through the walls of fire, and the Castle features magical aspects which makes use of the science behind gravity.
The gameplay experience can feel like it’s repetitive because most mechanisms and ways to solve the puzzle are mostly similar, but it gets highly interesting and makes you think outside the box more than you’ve ever imagined when you progress. Solving the level’s puzzle really gives that satisfying achievement, but each stage can sometimes feel like a chore. But what makes Life Goes On fun is the last stage of each location, the music changes into a much intense beat making you feel that it’s like a boss stage in some sort. The game looks naturally decent. It doesn’t have that much eye-candy visuals that other games can offer, but it’s something that we can actually praise. The knights looks fairly similar to each other but can be distinct from each other because of their helmets, weapons, and hats.
The controls are smooth as butter. It’s pretty much responsive when you jump and move, even touching or hitting the big-red buttons in the game responses well to your knights. There are stages in the game that particularly needs faster reaction and movement for you to solve the puzzles. Just like one of the stages in The Mountains where you have to be quick when the block of ice is moving while you have to jump over the next platform, the jumps and movement responses quite well with the controls. It’s pretty much precise when you’re using the analog stick which makes the game fun when you use a controller.
The game pretty much gives what every puzzle-platformer lovers want. Each location offers a new kind of experience and mechanisms when you progress which makes the game unpredictable and fun to play. Life Goes On – Done To Death will not be a disappointment to those who definitely love puzzles and platformer games. Are you ready to do your duty to retrieve the Cup of Life? If so, prepare to give your life up!
This review is based on a review copy provided by the developers/publisher.
