Mind Numbing Fun with a Dash of Frustration
If you are looking to attempt a climb of ridiculous proportions with failure at nearly every step, then Bennett Foddy’s Getting Over It is an indie game for you. While the game does spend a lot of time mocking the player every time they slip up and lose progress, it also a game about climbing a mountain with deliberately awkward controls. The player takes control of a man in a cast-iron pot with a sledgehammer. The only control you really have is swinging the sledgehammer via the touch screen. When you swing said sledgehammer, the end of it can push or propel you forward or up. Unfortunately, this can be to the player’s detriment. If the head of the hammer whacks something it shouldn’t, it sends you back down the mountain.
Of course, the idea of the game is to complete this near impossible climb. Doing so with controls that are specifically meant to make the trek as difficult as possible is just one of the charms of the game. To make things even more interesting, there are no checkpoints. While your progress is saved, it is possible for the player to throw themselves off the side of the mountain and (while likely screaming with frustration) fall all the way back to the beginning.
Rubbing Salt in the Wound
Getting Over It’s gameplay feels a bit clunky and, at times, annoying. This does not take away the feeling of success that the player feels when they overcome a particularly difficult portion of the climb however. The pile of miscellaneous that makes up the mountain can be tricky to maneuver, but a little patience and skill goes a long way when scaling the monster of a mountain. Losing your momentum, making a wrong move or just attempting a bold jump can cause you to suffer not only an incredible loss of progress, but also force you to listen to an audio of Mr. Foddy himself, explaining why his game is the perfect metaphor for life’s challenges and minor inconveniences.
Making progress in the game does feel satisfying, though you’ll still hear some audio from the author, and clearing your path to the top might feel even worth all the nonsense that Bennett Foddy puts the player through on their way. Disastrous as a misstep might be, they are necessary to expanding your knowledge of the game and, perhaps, learning from what Mr. Foddy is attempting to hammer home with every loss of progress. Enjoying a game like Getting Over It might feel a bit masochistic, but the joy of completing the climb is near euphoric.
