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The Linear RPG Review

Rating:

This game attempts to reduce RPGs to its simplest form, and actually manages to succeed. It is very rare that I'm giving such a small game a 4 star rating, but I really think the thought that went into its creation deserves that recognition.

Full Review

Let me be honest, The Linear RPG isn't really an RPG, but more of a commentary on the genre. Players play a stick figure running around on a linear path. Every step he takes, he loses some health and gains some experience, gaining enough experience allows him to level up and increase his maximum health. When he passes through some circular nodes on the path, his health returns to its maximum value. That's all there is to the game.

However, the resultant gameplay isn't really that simple. The key idea focused on here is the traditional mechanic of "grinding" in RPGs. There are segments within the game where the path between two points is too long and you run out of health before you reach the next life giving node. As such, the only way to pass those parts is to walk forwards and backwards about a node to keep increasing your experience and replenish your health. After you have gained enough levels and attained a maximum health value sufficiently large enough for the path ahead, then you can proceed.

Intriguingly, the game remains, in the words of its creator, scarily fun despite its minimalistic gameplay. I find myself endlessly entertained by the never ending sense of progress this game provides through its simple mechanic, always earning for just one more level, until I reach the end of the path. There are no visual surprises, no change in gameplay, no fancy visuals, just that assuring feeling of definite improvement you can never find in real life.

Like I said, this is a very short and simple game, and I urge everyone reading this to go give it a shot. The game is browser playable via Abobe Flash at this website.

Posted by Zhou Xuanming on April 28, 2010 Comments (0)