So I Tried… Don’t Fall

Each edition of So I Tried… I will try a game that I have never played before. Will I find something new to love? Will I find something new to despise? I'll take a full half hour, no matter how bad it gets or how badly I do, to see if this is the game for me. Following our tradition of rummaging through Steam Next Fest, the GrinCrew dug up a few choice demos to try out in search of new titles to add to our libraries, which brought us to the demo of Don’t Fall.

What I thought it was

 

Based on the name and logo, I assumed the game was based around clambering through different obstacle courses with other players as cats. Maybe it’d be a party game like Ultimate Chicken Horse, or feature a Fall Guys–esque race for victory. Thinking on the title, I’d assume gravity to be one of the major foibles of the feline contestants.

What it actually is

Our foray into Don’t Fall started off well, as we were introduced to the different kinds of jumps and leaps our surprisingly spherical cats were capable of pulling off. We bounced (literally) through a few hoops, climbed up to a floating island or three, and made our way steadily onwards and upwards! Interestingly, whenever we landed in the water or otherwise lost a life, a gravestone would persist to show off our apparent favourite diving locations.

 

However, macabre collections aside, my experience was soured a bit as I finally decided to look up and notice… we were dealing with a rage-bait game. Stretching further than our cat eyes could see, the different obstacles and platforms grew more and more complex, and with them, my excitement for the game lessened.

Thankfully, Don’t Fall features a checkpoint system, where players can unlock locations to return to in exchange for stars collected throughout the stage. If you fall down without dying, you can also reset by… exploding your cat in a hilarious, but also slightly concerning, animation. While I was thankful for the mechanic, I did feel it may become more difficult to gather the resource as the climb continues.

Will I keep playing?

I dislike this particular genre somewhat, so I don’t believe I’ll keep playing for more. The mechanics are fine, and it definitely has a charm all its own; however, I don’t think I’d have the patience to keep up with it.

Don’t Fall is launching on Windows PC via Steam, though there's no official release date at the time of writing.