Existence Reviews

Total hidden gem of a game! Went in curious about the gaining-abilities-by-dying conceit, but was impressed by the surprisingly deeply felt writing and music. The gaining-abilities-by-dying thing is similar in theory to The Missing: JJ Macfield and the Island of Memories, although personally, The Missing didn't land for me at all (besides generally enjoying Swery's Lynchean-stealing aesthetic), and I found The Missing's gameplay super tedious, being more about executing a plan for an obvious solution, as opposed to actually needing to be clever to progress. Existence was consistently challenging in all the right ways, and rewarded and respected my time as a player. Recommend.

Why haven't this game get no attention at all? It is a very exciting puzzle platformer with a unique gameplay design. To get through obstacles you have to kill yourself in various ways, such as jumping off a cliff which gives you a greater jumping ability when you respawn or getting struck by lightning which makes you run very fast or throwing yourself into spikes so you can climb stone walls and many more. There are shades in certain parts of the game that mimics every move you make and you need to get them to certain spots while finding a clever way by not touching them. And after solving the puzzles you have to execute the solution by tight action. There is only a certain part of a certain level which can be slightly frustrating - you need to avoid touching some spikes in a tight corridor while winds affect your movement so you have to synchronize yourself perfectly, it takes some practice. Other than this it is overall a moderately difficult game and does take little of your time to solve things, but even then, considering the price, the game is lengthy. I'm not really much into this kind of games but I had great enjoyment playing it. And the music is very beautiful. Story is a little surreal.