140

Time to start a second game! (And I’m also still playing 100% Orange Juice – didn’t see that coming.)

140 is a minimalist rhythm-based platformer. You play as a stalwart trio of geometric shapes in their brave quest to collect things and bring them to places. The game is solidly made with flat but compelling visuals and a snazzy soundtrack – other than that, there’s not really much to say about it.

I didn’t quite finish 140 – I got about halfway through before deciding it wasn’t worth finishing. You see, friends, after the first four levels, 140 removes the checkpoints. Lots of games do this, and it’s a mistake every single time. Being light on checkpoints has two effects: first, it makes the game feel more difficult than it is, because it increases the amount of time taken to get through a challenge without increasing the number of attempts needed; and second, it forces you to replay a part of the game you’ve mastered over and over in order to get to the part where you’re having trouble. If you want your game to be more difficult, then make it more difficult. Removing the checkpoints from your game doesn’t make it harder – it only makes it more tedious.

I’m fairly confident I will at least get back to where I was last time – we’ll see if I have enough patience to push past that point.