Rating:

FallOver is a hilarious parody of platform games, using realistic physics to mock the genre. Unfortunately, thanks to some rather forced design choices, it doesn't come together and doesn't feel as fresh as it could have.

Full Review

The premise of FallOver is an intriguing one: you play as a stereotypical Brit in a seemingly generic platformer, filled with colourful scenery, coins to collect and crates to smash open. The big hook is that your character has some real physics attached to him, meaning that if the player isn't very careful, then they'll 'fall over', hence the title.

It sounds like a supplementary element at first, but it quickly becomes apparent that the physics are key to mastering FallOver: Walking off a ledge will cause your guy to topple, so you have to remember to jump off every one from then on; You have to be especially careful when there are floating blocks, which will knock you backwards; Small rocks in the foreground become credible threats, capable of flipping you on your side if you try to walk over them. Relearning a lot of the mechanics and tropes that Super Mario Bros. introduced to platformers all those years ago is frustrating, and oddly hilarious, which I think is what the game was going for.

It's shame then that the design isn't so great. In each level, you can press a button to get up three times, which I understand is an effort to prevent the game being frustrating, but I kind of felt being frustrating was supposed to be the point. I was able to make it through some levels by just falling over a couple of obstacles, rather than learning to work my way around them.

I'd usually say that FallOver is free and worth the download here, but I think my description above is all you really need to enjoy FallOver. An admirable joke, but a rubbish game.