By Aeth Finch

Over the years, gamers have seen a variety of unique game ideas. For me, some that stood out were drawing objects that come to life in Scribblenauts, bullet time in Max Payne, and using both joysticks on a controller for both characters in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. It’s no revelation that developers have been pushing the limits of creativity over the years. Happily, Is This Game Trying To Kill Me? provides a reconstruction of a first-person puzzle game that brings an unexpected and a unique surprise, 2D turning into 3D.

The game starts off with you being woken in a cabin within the middle of the forest. You’ll quickly find a computer – and an unknown being – as they tell you the only way to escape and find great treasure is to complete a little game on the computer. 

But here’s the twist. Whatever happens on the computer screen also happens in the space around the player. While some puzzles are only possible in the cabin, while are solved only via the computer, I think the game uses this idea well overall.

This is what makes the game unique, and the mechanic is used very well and in a variety of ways. For instance, on the computer, you could find an empty chest. However, when you go to that same chest in the cabin, it has loot that can be important in solving a puzzle, helping you progress. Using both the cabin and the computer is key to your success. 

But more importantly, the game really is trying to, as they said in Mortal Kombat, finish you. But even failure in this game is enjoyable. One of the features I really like is that if you die in the computer game, something happens to you in the cabin based on how you died. If you die from a bomb, you get sent to a corner of the cabin. If you slip into  water on the computer, the bottom of your chair will fall out and you will drown. 

It’s great attention to detail and really gives the feeling that the game is in fact trying to kill you – because it will! Boss battles, avoiding spears, and dodging bombs add even more variety to this already diverse gameplay.

Though the game is really short at about four hours long, there are also other endings to encounter. Without spoiling much, there is a bad, a good, and a so-called best ending. The bad ending is simple, but the good and best endings require players to look deeper into the story, finding clues via the completed puzzles and hinting at the ‘failed experiments’ done before you arrived. I won’t reveal narrative’s secrets, but the lore is made in a way where it’s up to the player to piece it together and figure it out. Honestly, this portion is a little dry and not completely worth the effort.

Overall, the code is trying to kill you! But although it is trying to kill you, it does not mean you can’t enjoy it in some way. Albeit a bit short, it’s still a good showcase of a unique concept (and it’s  one of my favorites that I didn’t know I needed.) I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a short adventure for $20. And if the game does wipe you out, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Circle intern Aeth Finch is a senior at John Dewey High School in Brooklyn.

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