The Nerdy Type

You would think that in a world filled with the stresses of everyday life, gamers would try to find calming experiences to enjoy in their downtime. Strangely, for some at least, this seems to be the opposite of the truth, with players seeking out games designed specifically to induce rage. 

Going Up is one such game, the creation of solo developer Outsider, and it has been designed in a way that makes it impossibly difficult. However, you wouldn’t think that just from looking at the itch.io page, or from the cute graphics of the game itself. 

Designed to be impossible?

Perhaps impossible is a bit of a stretch, but it definitely feels impossible at least 90% of the time. According to Outsider, the design was inspired by games such as CS:GO, where the environment is what makes it difficult to succeed, rather than any enemies or other contributing factors. There are also no additional mechanics, just left, right, and jump. 

This much is obvious, because the platforms included as part of Going Up vary from the tiniest platforms that are barely bigger than the character you control, to ones that move so fast it’s hard to judge when you should jump. If you miss, you fall directly back to the layer below where you are now, or worse, right off the map and end up having to start all over again. The game is technically simple, yet diabolically difficult by design alone. 

On the flip side, that difficult-by-design effect is countered by the sheer elation you feel when you actually manage to achieve even the simplest jump, or you finally get past the point that you’ve got to before. I think that’s the appeal of rage games in general, and it’s no different with Going Up. 

Satisfying design

Outsider specializes in creating platformer assets, and previous to creating Going Up, he had a backlog of assets that were just sitting there gathering dust. Rather than let that continue, he compiled them into one game, and that’s how Going Up came to be. Combined with assets from other itch.io creators (such as enemies and the main character), the game is undoubtedly lovely to look at at every stage. 

As you progress higher up through Going Up, the setting changes to show off all of those previously unused assets. Each defined level has a theme, and while I can’t say I’ve become familiar with all of them (mainly because I’m not very good), I can say that each area I have seen is unique, and it almost feels like an entirely different game each time the setting changes. 

Going Up is one hell of a rage game that’s the perfect showcase for Outsider’s skills when it comes to creating intricate pixel landscape pieces. If you want to play Going Up, or see what else Outside has been up to, you can visit his itch.io page.