One of the biggest names in Flash games is Armor Games, the company that annoys me and my spellchecker because it is spelled with the American version of “armour.” In 2008 a game was released by “Tony” (Antony Lavelle) who makes games for the site. This game is Shift.
Shift has no real story. It’s a puzzle platformer. You are Subject 32763 and you must get from the first screen to the last by puzzle platforming. That’s pretty much it. The entire premise of the game. But that’s fine. With my Flash games I don’t require deep story or anything, I want a fun game to play.
And fun it is! As it’s a puzzle platformer you obvious jump from one platform to another and the puzzle aspect is trying to figure out how to get there. The way this is achieved is so simple yet so ingenious. Just press the Shift key. When you do that the level turns around 180 degrees and your character goes upright in this new level. So where you would initially have this:
all you have to do is press Shift and you get this:
and then you can complete the level and go onto the next. So simple, yet so clever. It also makes for some very interesting ways to solve the level.
To advance to the next level you need to get to the door, but sometimes you will have platforms blocking you. To get these out of the way all you need to do is collect one of the various keys on the level and you’ll have a path set out for you. Again, simple but effective.
The look of this game is also great. The simple black and white motif allows you to instantly recognise which part of the level you are on. Also, the simplicity just suits the game itself. It’s a simple game that plays amazingly.
The music playing in the background is great too. Very simplistic but fun and it fully immerses you in the game itself. The entire game has a cheek about it, constantly throwing insults and jokes at you and... wait a second. It’s Portal. This game has been influenced by Portal!
A simple puzzle platformer that is still somewhat challenging and has great audio, simplistic visuals and some omnipresent entity that mocks you. It even has a “The cake is a lie” thing going on!
Well, the game seems aware it’s influenced by Portal. I’ll give it that, though the references to Portal do annoy me (as they do with most games). But even if it is influenced by Portal I don’t mind. Some of the greatest things out there are almost directly influenced by other great things. And this game is great! I really advise playing it if you haven’t already. It isn’t a very long game, but it is worth it if you have a few minutes spare.
Plus, this game is great for another thing: it has brilliant sequels!
Final Verdict: 8/10
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