Perseverance test – review of the game “Never Give Up”

The blue protagonist wakes up to the sound of sirens and his bedroom is filled with gas. Escaping through the door, he ends up in a room full of traps that become more and more dangerous. Once he thinks he’s managed to escape, it all starts over. The plot in the game is kept to a minimum, but it is not the most important thing here.

Getting harder 

Never Give Up  looks like a cute and surprisingly addictive platformer. However, optimism quickly fades when it turns out that the game is very difficult, and each subsequent level becomes more and more demanding. I did not have the opportunity to get acquainted with the Give Up flash games, which are the prototype of the title in question, so I was not fully aware of what awaited me. The first stages of the given locations start inconspicuously, and overcoming them is not difficult. Then you go through them again, but the level is slightly changed. We repeat this action until the end of the series, but there are more traps, blockages or sharp tools that can easily deal with the blue man. The real struggle for survival begins when the targeting missiles appear.

Death is inevitable 

W Never Give Up is killed very often. After a certain number of deaths, you have the option to surrender. On the one hand, the game encourages you to stay constrained, after all it will eventually work, right? On the other hand, it gives the possibility of displaying a white flag. You can feel a surge of ambition and try to complete a stage or accept defeat. The option is blocked at the beginning and becomes available after the hero’s blood is sufficiently shed. Additionally, the narrator suggests to the player that perhaps it would be better to end this torment after all. When we decide to give up, the screen shows humorous graphics mocking our failure, albeit in a positive way. Despite not completing the level, access to the next stages is unlocked, which, however, does not allow you to forget about previous failures. From now on, we are accompanied by a large stamp with the words GAVE UP. We can choose from three difficulty levels: easy (containing checkpoints), hard (without them) and permadeath, in which we start the game from the very beginning after the trash. Difficulty can be changed at any time.

Masa lokacji 

Gra zawiera wiele głównych lokacji, różniących się wyglądem poziomów, takich jak Basement, City czy Crystal Caverns. Istnieje około 250 etapów, podzielonych na wszystkie lokalizacje, gdzie każdy poziom ma od pięciu do siedmiu etapów. Lokalizacje obejmują zarówno ciasne przestrzenie, jak i te bardziej otwarte, więc nie występuje uczucie monotonii. Po ukończeniu danego poziomu, gracz zostaje oceniony w zależności od czasu przechodzenia oraz zebranych po drodze przedmiotów. Na końcu każdego zestawu lokacji czeka boss. Walka z nim wywołuje frustracje, jednak kiedy nauczymy się ich ruchów i zachowań, zwycięstwo sprawia ogromną satysfakcję.

Podsumowanie 

Never Give Up jest grą, która zdecydowanie przypadnie do gustu każdemu miłośnikowi trudnych gier. Nie wybacza ona błędów i wymaga ogromnej precyzji podczas przemierzania kolejnych etapów. Od czasów gry Super Meat Boy nie miałem do czynienia z tak wymagającą platformówką, gdzie posoka leje się w ilościach hurtowych.