Human: Fall Flat Review

Of all the games that have passed through our hands, we can say without a doubt that Human: Fall Flat is one of the most strange games at the same time as hilarious we have seen. Curve Digital presents this game developed by the study No Brakes Games and the self-described solitary wolf Tomas Sakalauskas, a Lithuanian specialized in the development of video games that teaches at the University of Vilna. This is a game that combines the demonstration of physics in your main character (with some movements that are already funny to see) with the resolution of puzzles at each level.

Duration

One of the main features of Human Fall Flat is the exploration, it can be said that it is also a sandbox game, because there are many ways to pass a single level, and the player can do all kinds of things that come to mind, however is absurd that they are, therefore its playability is of 100%. Also on some levels there are a couple of doors and secret paths for the most curious.

But in short, the main story is about 5 hours long, but we can add hours if we are lovers of completing all the secrets of a game

Gameplay

Human: Fall Flat is a game that dispenses with a narrative background with which to guide the succession of levels and their puzzles to reach the goal, which is none other than a jump into the void that sends us to a new level apparently floating. Precisely the same fate we will run if we fall by one of the edges of each stage: fall into it and repeat again and again, in a kind of infinite loop without end until we reach the final balcony of each level and we move on to the next.

The handling of that mobile white ball of a material that looks like plasticine and named Bob is the least curious. It is not only that by its own movements and effects represented by gravity it seems that it is not able to remain in a bipedal position (it has reminded us a lot of Octodad), but that we will even have control of each of its upper extremities separately. In the case of Human: Fall Flat, the control of the camera will be crucial, as it will serve as a tool to point where we want Bob to stretch his arm and grab the item on screen.

As for the puzzle mechanics themselves, we will not find a game that has them very well worked and that represent a real challenge. Examples like the opening of a switch by pressing two buttons simultaneously (an accomplishment for Bob), drag a box to a platform as a switch, break a crystal with an object, place a stone in a catapult ... All In Human: Fall Flat has just turned out to be too obvious to get stuck with the solution. And even if this were the case, there are radios perfectly placed on the screen to inform us about the resolution of the problem before us.

The main problem in the game is the control itself. With the animations presented by Bob, even a jump from a small platform can be quite a challenge. There are some climbing sections where you can lose a bestial amount of time trying to get to the top. The problem? In any game there are certain commands to undertake the actions set. Here, everything is so dependent on free will that climbing becomes a succession of actions carried out to the millimeter. Raise an arm while jumping, trying to point to the edge and hold you at the right time. Control is the differentiating element to come to consider the game as difficult.

Graphics & Design

The artistic aspects of the game are quite minimalist, on the one hand, the scenarios are very broad with mostly single-colored walls, and the overall color palette is rather opaque, with pastel or dark tones. However there are some elements that have colors that stand out in the environment and are those with which the player can interact along the level. There is no HUD anywhere on the screen, there is no information of any kind.

On the other hand there is not a soundtrack in the game, the musical tracks that are appreciated are those of the menu and one that sounds on a specific occasion, such as passing level, discovering a new mechanic or exploring a secret zone , The rest of the time there is ambient sound. This absence of music, accompanied by the great minimalist scenarios, makes the player experience a feeling of desolation, because there is nothing more than objects, with no signs of life anywhere.

Conclusion

Human: Fall Flat is a game more fun to watch than to play. The animations of the protagonist humanoid are strange enough to make a smile to the player, but applied to the control have just been a little frustrating. As a puzzle game, it is too simple and intuitive and rarely we are left without knowing what to do, abusing the appearance of clues if that was the case. As for the hours of play, getting the protagonist to direct his chaotic movements in the quest to achieve the goal will take us about five hours on average, totally variable according to the mastery of the random results of Bob's handling. An experiment that tries to be a satire of you will know what, but that ends up being totally expendable.