Life Goes On: Done to Death – Review



Title   Life Goes On: Done to Death
Developer  Infinite Monkeys Entertainment Ltd.
Publisher  Infinite Monkeys Entertainment Ltd.
Platform  Windows PC, PlayStation 4 (reviewed)
Genre  Puzzle platform
Release Date  May 17th, 2016
Official Site  http://www.lifegoesongame.com/

lifegoesoneDTDrev1The platform/puzzle genre has never shied away from the weird and wonderful. Seemingly less constrained by convention than others, the humble platformer has blossomed into a genre that isn’t afraid to experiment with the strange and unusual, or the downright bloody surreal. Enter Life Goes On: Done to Death, by Infinite Monkeys Entertainment Ltd. This is a smart but increasingly fiendish puzzler that doesn’t cherish life so much as gleefully encourage it to get snuffed out on a regular basis. You are given an endless supply of bold (presumably gullible) knights with whom to navigate a series of levels in one of the game’s areas (mountains, mines, etc). So far, so dandy? NO. Death awaits. Pointy death, fiery death, death by ice and strange furry creatures. Death is the primary gameplay mechanic and without it you can’t progress.

Just as you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs, you can’t traverse the level to claim your prize of a golden chalice without casually expending the first, second, or often twentieth knight you’ll control. Want to reach that platform? Then you’d best throw yourself on those spikes to create a safe barrier on which to climb. Then simply spawn your next knight, and use the body of his predecessor to scramble to safety. Or, more than likely, you’ll slip and also impale that knight, meaning you’ll have to spawn yet another who can then use them both as platforms.

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Knights can be frozen and their block-corpses used by the next knight to reach higher platforms, others give up their lives so that their corpse can be dropped onto switches and buttons, allowing access to new parts of the level or for the activation of fire jets, ice jets, and more. All very noble. Each level ramps up the difficulty, requiring you to combine the tricks you’ve learned to reach your goal. You may, for example, have to jump three knights onto a lake of spikes for the next person to use them as stepping stones, and then fling your current chap’s body onto other, moving spikes, which can be moved to drop the corpse onto a distant switch… all while avoiding flame-throwing elements that will frazzle body to a crisp and set you back.

lifegoesoneDTDrev3Difficulty in puzzle games is always an issue but Life Goes On handles it admirably. Neither too simple or too hard, the difficulty draws you in, shows you its tricks and then slowly ramps up. That’s not to say you won’t be tearing your hair out – you will – but it won’t spring anything too shredding on you until much later. When you reach the end of an area, the game presents you with a forking path. You can opt to end the area with the last level, or you move a different way and try the skull puzzle. This level is usually a nasty bastard of a creation, and will take much experimenting and controller rage before you crack it.

While you do have a never-ending supply of foolish heroes, each level has a goal in mind, and a challenge to complete it within a certain time limit and within a certain amount of deaths. While this may be easy early on, in the later stages, while you’re getting the feel for a more tricky, complex level, it’s damn hard to do. As a reward the game gives you…. Hats. Yes. And why not. The hats don’t imbue your knights with any powers or abilities, but your heroes will die with stupid head gear on their noggins. Fair enough. You can also go back and re-try a level to better your body count if you really care. For many, though, just making it to the end will be reward enough.

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The game looks smart – with atmospheric levels themed to the areas, and pretty lighting and effects making it enjoyable to play and easy on the eye and I never ran across anything jarring, either graphically or with the gameplay. Perhaps best of all, the game doesn’t take itself too seriously. Even when you’re screaming in rage after you pull a lever too late and the body rolling round a spiked conveyor misses the target switch and ends up immolated instead, Life Goes On is fun to play. While the premise may be simple, it delivers engrossing, tricky gameplay and a sense of humour and character that’s most welcome.

Pros
  • Irreverent, amusing concept
  • Simple but fiendish gameplay
  • Decent difficulty ramping
  • Lovely graphics and theming
Cons
  • Skull levels are a dick
  • Made me damage my controller
Summary

Life Goes On: Done to Death is a smart, amusing, and utterly irreverent platformer that should sit proudly among its puzzle/platform peers. Not only does it look lovely, but the gameplay is both engaging and easy to pick up, allowing players to sink into the game quickly and stay immersed, even when things get tough. And they will get tough.

Smart levels design and increasingly tricky puzzles mean that you’ll have to work to get through the game’s various areas, but it’s more than worth it. While it isn’t overly complex or demanding or even in-depth, it doesn’t claim to be anything but a fun platforming romp with a warped sense of humour... and it succeeds admirably.


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2 Comments

  1. Chris Chris says:

    Looks fun and love the theme. Will add it to the list. Lovely review, Lorna :)

  2. Ste Ste says:

    I like the sound of this, kinda like a less infuriating version of Super Meat Boy. Not that death was a necessary mechanic in SMB, just more of a constant companion. Also SMB looked a bit boring and bland, whereas the screen shots in this look a lot nicer.

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