Review: Airscape: The Fall of Gravity
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to take control of an octopus out of water in an indie platformer? Well now your dreams are about to come true… Aliens have abducted all sea life, and it’s up to one brave little octopus to save them all.
30 Second Review
+ Cute Animations
+ Great Controls
+ Good Gameplay
– Brutally Challenging
– May Induce Motion Sickness
Oh, You Didn’t Know?
Airscape: The Fall of Gravity is an adventure indie platformer developed by Cross-Product. Since it is a platformer it has a very minimal story. The focus is definitely intended to be on the gameplay. It has some elements present that remind me a little bit of Super Mario Bros. Especially the character of Bullet Bill.
I feel that this game was in some way inspired a little bit by SpongeBob SquarePants. It might be the art style or the fact that we are dealing with critters from the sea. I can’t quite put my finger on the reason why, but it’s there staring right back at me.
It wasn’t until this past year that I started getting interested in platformers again. Originally, they were the majority of games that I played when I was younger. Being a long-time Nintendo gamer, Airscape: The Fall of Gravity was definitely a title that quickly grabbed my attention. It appeared to be a platformer with a new twist that literally put the platforming genre on its head. I was greatly looking forward to playing it.
The music and sounds of the game are a perfect blended mix that compliment each other very well. I quite enjoyed the music, and never once was I tempted to turn it down or off.
The controls are great and responsive. Everything made sense and worked the way I expected, and I had no problem adapting to the controls. I think they are well suited for the gameplay.
Dramamine for the Soul
I have played a tremendous amount of games in my life. I have never had a game cause me to feel physically ill until now. In the options menu of Airscape: The Fall of Gravity, there is a rotation feature that you can turn up to 100 for extreme dizziness, or you can turn it down. In order to be able to play the game, I had to turn it down to 25. I thought about turning it down all the way but decided that I needed to play it at least on 25 to properly experience the game for review purposes. It was the first time I have experienced a form of motion sickness, so just be aware that you may need to tweak the options if you are also affected.
I’m a bit confused by Airscape: The Fall of Gravity. It’s a game in appearance that I would think would lend well to the appeal of children and casual gamers. However, that is not the case at all. This game is for the extreme hardcore crowd. I would say it’s on par with the Metroidvania genre in terms of challenge (not so much in terms of gameplay). The challenge is brutal and punishing, and you will die over and over again. I am so confused by the presentation of this game, because I was not prepared for the degree of difficulty that ensued.
Airscape: The Fall of Gravity has over 60 challenging levels, but I doubt many people will ever see all 60. The level of commitment that it’s going to take to overcome death and see everything that this game has to offer is on par with the gaming dedication to Dark Souls. This game is the cute and platformer side of Dark Souls.
Rescue Calamari
Airscape: The Fall of Gravity has a great price for an indie game at $9.99. However, if you’re not sure you’re feeling up to the challenge (or motion sickness), you may want to consider waiting for a half off sale or even waiting for it to become part of an indie bundle. It’s not a bad game by any means; it’s just not the right game for me, and I think other gamers may feel the same way.
