DeathFall Review

By , on January 17, 2011


DeathFall
Download on the AppStore
3 out of 5

PROS

  • Detailed illustrated designs; looks sharp on Retina displays.
  • Great musical choices for each level.
  • Smooth tilting controls; easy to maneuver with agility.

CONS

  • No gameplay depth at all; just keep falling.
  • Game completely resets after death.

VERDICT

Unfortunately great audio and visual choices only make a good game better and without a good game backing DeathFall it's merely a pretty time waster.


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If you haven't heard the term 'ear worm' before, let me explain: Have you ever had a moment when you realize you have a small loop of a song stuck in your head and it's almost impossible to get your brain to skip over it? That's an 'ear worm'. DeathFall by Jurgis Games is the gaming equivalent of an 'ear worm' and while there could be something grand beyond the walls of this game, you feel like you're stuck in some never ending loop that never attempts to break free.

The journey you take in DeathFall is a surreal one, but easy enough to pick up. You control a skull that smoothly slides back and forth across the screen as you tilt and various random objects (or 'relics') can be collected, awarding players with a temporary bonus for extra points if you collect a series without missing any. Obstacles regularly complicate the process, with physics based challenges requiring you to either bounce, push or smash your way past objects to collect relics, while the occasional spike trap can drain one of three lives you have available to get as far as possible.

isually, DeathFall is like a surreal macabre illustration given life and despite the sepia toned environments there's a lot of interesting variations in the style. Unfortunately the sum total of DeathFall's gameplay ends there, with players either taking their time or blitzing their way through levels (with little penalty or incentive either way) and once you've made your way through the four available levels you'll loop again, only with more obstacles to avoid.

This slow paced gameplay quickly becomes tedious and the largest hurdle to overcome is trying to remain patient as you speed past 'puzzles' in favor of reaching levels that provide more of a challenge. DeathFall is a beautiful experience that's elegant in its execution, but its surreal style lacks context or any sense of reward for progression, making it an easy game to put back down after only a few play-throughs.

Screenshots

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