Is the Vertical Journey Captivating or Simply Repetitive?
The platformer genre has seen countless iterations, each attempting to innovate on the fundamental mechanics of jumping and navigating environments. Only Way Is Down enters this crowded space with a distinct vertical focus, from the unique perspective of a cat. Is helping a kitty navigate their way down a literal skyscraper that is under construction as fun as it sounds? Read on to find out!
Falling with Style
In Only Way Is Down, the core gameplay revolves around precisely timed jumps and careful navigation through a seemingly endless vertical environment (seriously – the skyscraper is, naturally, huge!).
The story starts with your cat falling asleep on top of a pile of building supplies, only to be hoisted up to the very top of a skyscraper that is under construction by a crane. When your cat wakes up, the game begins.
Amusingly, you are given nine lives by default. Not so amusingly, is that you will probably burn through those lives incredibly quickly! It’s so easy to misplace a paw as you attempt to navigate across the numerous obstacles and find yourself plummeting down to the ground below!
Mastering the Plunge
The central mechanic of Only Way Is Down is the platforming itself. Your cat can walk in all directions, jump an crouch. That’s about it. Timing is important, naturally, as it is very easy to miss where you are aiming by jumping a moment too early or late.
There is an option to enable Cat Sense, which shows you by way of a row of dotted lights, which way to go. However, don’t think that makes things easier – it doesn’t! In addition to that, your Cat Sense won’t always work, meaning that you’re going to have to have your cat navigate themselves around certain obstacles!
Visuals of the Void
Only Way is Down looks good, with decent visuals throughout. There is nothing cutting edge, as such, but considering that you are probably going to spend most of your time watch a cat plummet to the ground, it’s pretty good!
The city around you looks great, and the sense of immense danger is amplified every time you happen to glimpse a view down to the street oh so far below your cat!
Endless Abyss
Only Way Is Down will likely require several playthroughs as you will probably keep dying before you reach the bottom safely! It is possible to find different paths along the way to get to certain areas more quickly, which is a positive reason to keep playing. Better still is that there is the option to find collectables for your kitty, in the form of different headgear!
Conclusion
Only Way Is Down is a fun and unique title. For cat lovers, this will both excite you and also break your heart. The concept is simple, and it can be easy to become frustrated. However, with an adorable character to control and several collectables to pick up along the way, this is one to keep you busy for a while!
Pros
- Unique vertical platforming concept.
- Challenging and precise gameplay.
- Decent graphics.
- You play as a cat.
Cons
- Basic story and concept.
- Frustrating levels of precision required.
- Very easy to fail.
