Surmount Reviews

like singleplayer Heave-Ho mixed with The Climb (vr game), very fun!

I wholly adore this game, and I had such a fun time getting through the main story. I still have a few side stuff pending, and I probably want to sink a couple more hours into it, but as it stands it is a game I would whole-heartedly recommend. However, for anyone considering picking it up (or if the devs happen to peek the following feedback), some thing things to keep in mind from my own personal experience, because as cute and fun as the game is (I'm a sucker for physics-based adventure and puzzle games), it felt a little more unpredictable at times than I felt it really should be for a game that demands a certain level of precision: [list] [*]the more I advanced through the game, the less "challenging" and more "unfair" the hazards felt in each of the zones. I didn't personally find randomly moving platforms in Zone 4 and what really felt like me-seeking meteors all that fun, where I was able to progress by virtue of mastering the mechanics and rather just trying to get higher and higher as fast as possible to spend as little time exposed as I could, which is a shame because I really love the climbing mechanic of flinging yourself, and having to rush that felt like I was fighting the game where it is most fun [*]there were more than a few times where a level felt like I absolutely was [b] required [/b] to use items to progress, rather than feeling like they were there to give me a leg up on a particularly challenging stretch of platforming, and considering I didn't find anywhere to consistently find or purchase the items, felt quite punishing, often requiring me to start runs over again [*]there was possibly a bug where if you skip the camera pan at the start of a level where you would spawn... under the level? Without a platform? I'm unsure what exactly happened but I had to restart at least 3 runs because I started the level already off the map, and that was extremely frustrating, although I was able to avoid this happening a 4th time but letting it play out before starting a level (this only happened in Zone 4 for me) [*]I was not able to consistently do the crab-climb with the option for holding a direction to initiate a spin, so I would flop back and forth unable to find a way to get it to work, which was a shame because I really could have used a break on my thumbs for spinning the analog stick on my controller [*]there was just a bit too much weird collision with some of the environments or inconsistent movement happening, which made some of the more precise platforming feel like I had to "cheese" my way through it by finding the teeny tiny bit of a slope that was [b] JUST [/b] flat enough for me to regain my stamina so I could keep climbing, which kind of sucked the fun out of it for me because I really do love the mechaninc of flinging yourself around to climb! [*]I had a hard time with getting my person to line up with certain characters to chat with them, where I would end up having to run back and forth to get it to properly prompt the talk button over them (was especially bad if there were a couple of people/items next to each other, needing me to run quite a bit off to the side and try and line up right where it would change to the desired object or person) [/list] I'll say there were maybe a couple other things here and there that felt... not great that had me really groaning and exasperated, but! I finished the game! I pushed through because I loved it so much truly from the first couple of minutes I tried of the demo. I thought the story and characters were cute, the mechanics were fun and inspired, and if I could play through another 4 zones with their own environmental gimmick I'd boot the game back up and keep playing, no questions asked. It's also a really pretty game, I like the sound design and charming tunes that play in the background, and like that your character has this almost Mii-like feel to them, letting the game feel like it might have been something you could've played on the 3DS or Wii/U. So for anyone who is wondering if this game is for you, certainly give the demo a try, and if you find it even a little fun and engaging, then by all means please support the devs and buy the game! Just give yourself breaks if you hit any weird frustrating bits, and try it again during another sitting. Or use your items! Don't hoard them thinking there will be a better time if it'll make your life easier. But if the game got just another pass or two of some touching up, I think this game would easily be something I'd come back to time and again just to get to experience it some more. Thank you to the devs and everyone who made this game happen. You're the reason I play and enjoy games.

I've been having plenty of fun with this game. Simple in concept, easy to play with somewhat deep climbing mechanics, although the art style leaves a bit to be desired. There have been many times when I've felt that the game is actively working against me, and while that's not necessarily a bad thing in itself, many times it feels like the game is broken. Wonky character physics, being stuck in a state of freezing and unfreezing due to ice or wind that basically just warrants a reload, and most frustrating of all, anchor points that seem to untether at random or for no reason at all causing death or massive loss of progress at best. I would still recommend this game when it's on a sale, just for the fact that many of these issues haven't kept me from coming back to it. When everything is working as it should, the flow state and butthole pucker factor that come from some of the jumps and movements are just pure fun.

buggy mess that is rng dependant and at times very difficult. delayed writing this review in hopes the devs would update the game but it's been months of nothing