LogFAQs > #966062621

#42: RITE

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/1/6/AAA-H0AADYHg.jpg

On January 9th, 2022, for Awesome Games Done Quick '22, a runner named LincherTailow ran a game called RITE. The run was beautifully awkward. The runner began with a full minute of stone cold silence, as it became clear that he was more of a quiet type of gamer who wasn't comfortable speaking at length; the host, Brutal_Melo, jumped in and started interviewing him impromptu about the game to fill the dead space, which, props, the professionalism in how he handled the situation was A+, but it was also really nice to hear LincherTailow open up, as someone who's socially anxious myself - I don't know if he wasn't confident in his english, or just not confident in speaking at all, but he did fine in the end talking about the game and I felt like everyone was cheering him on. During the game, the host asked him what was going through his mind as he runs the game, and I'll always remember his response: "Making good jumps." Perfect answer. RITE is, indeed, a game about making good jumps, and that's pretty much it.

I've always had a real love-hate relationship with what I've disparagingly termed the 'infinideath platformer.' You know the type of game. You *know* it. The I Wanna Be The Guys and Kaizo Marios and Super Meat Boys of the world. They're all over the place. Super-precise platformers in spike-filled levels in which one small misstep means death but where checkpoints are frequent enough that you'll always make a small bit of progress with enough gritty determination. Maddy Thorson, more well known nowadays for making the infinideath masterpiece Celeste, founded this genre when she made Jumper way back in like 2004 or whatever. Remember Jumper? If you're reading this on Board 8 then chances are you probably do. In spite of its relative obscurity nowadays, it's honest to god maybe one of the most influential video games ever, and I played the hell out of it. I love-hated it back then as much as I love-hate games like Celeste now. The sheer dedication needed to develop the muscle memory to navigate the game's levels frustrates me beyond belief, yet there's something a little bit fun, almost calming about surrendering yourself to it.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/1/7/AAA-H0AADYHh.jpg

Well, RITE's another one of these little fuckers. And its gimmick is... nothing! That's right, nothing. RITE is a game that brings absolutely nothing new to the genre. You're a weird little dude in a series of short, numbered levels, and your abilities are running, jumping, and wall jumping. You navigate levels, collecting shiny things for 100% completion, and collecting a big shiny thing which unlocks the door at the start that you need to go back to, avoiding spikes and swinging axes and rotating sawblades the whole way. That's it! That's the entire game. There is no aspect of the gameplay that I didn't describe to you.

I didn't really think a whole lot of it at the time when I was watching it played at GDQ - it looked pretty good as a speedrun but the game was just another one of these platformers, and I don't typically play them too often. I probably wouldn't have given it a shot if it wasn't in the Ukraine bundle, but I noticed it as I was looking through it for games to play, remembered the GDQ run, and decided to give it a shot. I'm really glad I gave it a chance.

While it doesn't do anything new for the genre, the key to RITE's success is that what it does, it does *flawlessly.* For what it is, it's about as perfect as it gets. The controls are extremely responsive and flowing; movement and wall jumping feels exactly as it should. The level design has that sort of flash game feel to it where it's a series of levels that look mostly the same, built out of the same building blocks, but they're designed well. And maybe more importantly, for a game that you have to spend a lot of time staring at, the art and the music in this game are gorgeous. The pixel art in this is some of the nicest looking pixel art I've ever seen, with vibrant but not blinding colors and absurdly fluid animation, and the soundtrack, which I expected to be generic and forgettable, was written specifically for the game and ended up being really good, worth not turning the sound down for. These touches really make the game stand out amongst a sea of other games like it.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/1/8/AAA-H0AADYHi.jpg

This seems to be the solo (aside from soundtrack) dev's first major release, as far as I can tell, and it's a hell of a debut, with gameplay and visuals that are polished like a fine gemstone. It might have sounded like a criticism that this game does nothing new, but I think it's good when you're starting out to create something like this that isn't wildly ambitious but gets everything right; I'm kind of looking forward to what he does in the future. Maybe. I mean, I sort of hated RITE at the same time because it's another one of these fucking infinideath platformers and I think that by playing this I've had enough to last me another five years, or until Maddy Thorson comes out with something again, whichever happens first. But if this sort of game is your thing, you probably already own it thanks to the Ukraine bundle, so please check it out. Please make some good jumps.

Next up: Another roguelike-y thing. I dunno, guess one! It ranked #41, so it has to be something that's not like, TOO good, but just pretty good.