2D Platformers have been going strong for over 20 years now, which makes it even more impressive that And Yet it Moves manages to bring a unique game play element to the genre. The unique twist of being able to rotate the entire screen 90 degrees at will adds a completely new game play element to the standard run-and-jump 2D Platformers. Top it off with a unique cardboard cut-out art style, and And Yet it Moves is a ripping good time.
Get to Point B from Point A, the standard that we have become so familiar with over the years in 2D Platformers. Maybe there is a hidden door, or secret ladder to make things a bit interesting, but it’s always the same affair. We’re huge fans of the genre, but admittedly, until the recent resurgence of stellar titles of the likes of Mega Man 9 and Bionic Commando Rearmed, the genre had been all but played out. And Yet it Moves enters the saturated market with a simple premise – run-and-jump as always, but give the player the ability to rotate the screen to navigate the levels.
Standing at the edge of a gap that is much too large to simply jump over, what does one do? Rotating the screen 90 degrees will move the gap from directly in front of the on-screen character to the side, and the character will start to fall accordingly across the gap. Just as the gap is crossed a second rotation back and voila, the gap has been safely crossed. This is just a basic example of the things to come, as boulders threaten death as they follow the on-screen character during rotations, and moving obstacles must be precisely traversed in the later levels of the game offering a substantial challenge to even expert platform veterans.
Inertia: the resistance of any physical object to a change in its state of motion or rest. What does this have to do with And Yet it Moves? It has everything to do with it, and inertia is what makes it so much fun. The character builds inertia (momentum) either by falling or rotating the screen and a safe landing depends on how much inertia has been built in the process. If the ground is hit too hard the character, will “rip”, or die. It’s possible to make a small jump and then rotate the screen multiple times, building inertia, and then rip upon landing, even when on-screen the character never moved but a few inches. Finding ways to traverse the deceptive levels without building up too much momentum is what make And Yet it Moves so captivating. Levels are expertly developed to fit the unique play style, with checkpoints scattered in abundance making some of the hardest areas of game passable with a bit of practice and skill.
And Yet it Moves is a game that is unique on so many levels, that it really takes playing to grasp the concept. Taking a new bold step into a worn genre and succeeding is not easy task, and yet And Yet it Moves does just that. Lasting only a few short hours isn’t even an issue as the replay value is so high that many will play through the game multiple times, or tackle Time Trials when the main adventure is over. Indy gaming has always presented unique game play styles to gamers, and And Yet it Moves sits in the top-tier of indie gaming, and we recommend it highly.
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