Rating of
5/5
Super Short and Super Sweet
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 08/19/16
“Freedom Fall” (“FF”) began life as an Indie project by graphic designer, Lisa Rye. Fortunately for gamers everywhere, Rye’s project attracted the attention of Indie publisher, Stirfire Studios, and the game was brought to completion. I first encountered “FF” as an OUYA title, and it struck me as incredibly impressive, despite the fact that the rest of the OUYA experience was anything but. Fortunately, “FF” turned out not to be exclusively stuck on a dead platform or even Android ecosystems, but was released on PC as well, first appearing on Desura, before making its way through the Steam Greenlight process.
Presentation
“FF” is built in the MOAI engine, which is specifically designed for mobile (i.e., smartphone) games. Fortunately, “FF” doesn’t seem to be hindered in any way by its engine. The graphics are all absolutely gorgeous, hand-drawn sprites by Lisa Rye that are well animated and bursting with personality and character. “FF” is one of the most eye-catching, visually appealing games outside of the titles produced by George Kamitani’s Vanillaware.
The sound design is not quite as strong as the visuals, but is pleasant nonetheless. “FF” features an appropriately catchy soundtrack and suitable sound effects throughout. There is no voiceacting, however, as the main antagonist is a mute, which leads into the narrative elements.
Technically, “FF” is pretty solid. I did experience some crashy behavior, but I’m convinced it was the fault of my stubbornly using an XBONE controller to play (thanks to the better d-pad), and MS still hasn’t fixed all of the idiosyncrasies of their newest hardware.
Story
The narrative in “FF” strongly reminds me of the narrative of another super-short, yet absolutely amazing Indie game project – a little title picked up by Valve Softworks called “Portal.” “FF” opens with our hero, a boy named Marsh, locked in a cell at the top of a tower. No indication is given for why he’s imprisoned, but within seconds we learn by whom he was imprisoned.
The walls of the tower are liberally covered in messages from The Princess, about whom we learn quite a bit through the game’s duration. The Princess’ messages, written on the walls in pink paint, at first serve as tutorials for how to play, but quickly reveal her as a GLaDOS-like antagonist who imprisoned Marsh (and a lot of other people we never see) and who has intentionally designed this tower prison to be inescapable, while simultaneously making any failed escape attempts as ‘entertaining’ as possible, filling it with spikes, traps, and other nastiness – sometimes at the expense of architectural stability.
Also, like “Portal,” “FF” is an incredibly short game. It took me right around 2 hours to play through it from start to end. However, there are some replayability options for players (of a certain mindset) to shoot for, such as par times, par collectables, and par death counts per stage. “FF” also has four different endings, with a fairly significant narrative fork separating them. In order to experience each ending, it is necessary to replay the game from the beginning in a new save slot, as achieving a given ending for a save locks it into that ending permanently, regardless of the player’s ability to replay the stage with the story fork and make a key decision during the ending credits themselves.
“FF’s” clever creativity in revealing the tutorial, story, and character development entirely via messages painted on the walls by a mute antagonist really makes it stand out from other platformers. Many barely have excuse narratives to get the action moving, while others bog themselves down with long cutscenes and attempts at cinematics that end up making the experience a chore. “FF” strikes the perfect balance between the two extremes.
Gameplay
As a 2D Platformer, “FF” is about as traditional as a videogame can get. However, whereas most 2D Platformers scroll from side-to-side, typically left-to-right, “FF” takes a cue from the 8-bit antique, “Kid Icarus,” and scrolls vertically instead. Unlike “Kid Icarus,” though, “FF,” as its title suggests, is all about descent. The player character, Marsh, starts at the top of an incredibly tall tower and must constantly endeavor to descend lower and lower through its levels until eventually reaching the bottom – and the promise of freedom.
Typically for a 2D Platformer, Marsh can move side to side, jump, wall-jump, and climb up onto ledges. This incredibly basic core gameplay is supplemented through a series of power-up items that can be crafted by collecting the bolts and gears that are liberally scattered throughout each floor of the tower. There are three movement-based power-ups that are permanent once built: a glider that allows Marsh to fall more slowly and even catch thermal updrafts, a winged belt that allows Marsh to double-jump, and a hoverboard that slows descent even more than the glider and allows for quick horizontal movement. In addition to these permanent power-ups, Marsh can also craft bombs, of which he can carry 5 at a time, which serve as his only means of attack. Bombs come into play during boss battles, but can also be used to destroy/disable the tower’s individual traps. Outside of bosses, there are no enemies in the game.
The layout of the tower in “FF” consists of 16 stages (including one bonus stage to play after the credits roll), which increase in difficulty along a smooth curve. Marsh has unlimited lives and respawns fairly quickly at the nearest checkpoint upon death, in a manner reminiscent of another Indie platformer, “Super Meat Boy,” but with the overall difficulty turned down from “Super Meat Boy’s” 11 to a much more reasonable 6 or 7. Platforming purists and obsessives can shoot for a number of achievements or try to hit the top of each stage’s leaderboard in order to extend the game’s length, but I didn’t find any of that ‘hardcore’ nonsense necessary. “FF” is just a finely crafted platformer with polished mechanics, responsive controls, and clever stage design – It has everything and is lacking nothing.
Overall
“Freedom Fall” is, without a doubt, one of the finest 2D Platformers I’ve ever experienced. Between the gorgeous hand-drawn visuals, the witty protagonist/antagonist dynamic and clever narrative structure, and polished gameplay, this game has it all. I look forward to future projects from Stirfire Studios and Lisa Rye, as they have proven themselves incredibly capable with their inaugural release.
Presentation: 5/5
Story: 5/5
Gameplay: 5/5
Overall (not an average): 5/5
