Flash Game Reviews: Don't Look Back

Don’t Look Back is a flash game by Terry Cavanagh of Distractionware. I played this game a few years back when it first came out and loved it. Revisiting it today has made me realise why I loved it. This game is just a brilliant piece of work.

The game tells the story of a guy going to the underworld to rescue what can only be presumed to be his wife. It’s fairly obvious this is an adaptation of the Greek myth of Orpheus travelling to the underworld to get his wife, Eurydice, who recently died. The story of the game isn’t the same as this, with the main character blasting his way through the depths of Hades rather than using beautiful music to charm the god of the underworld.

The story is well told, but this is done simplistically and in a minimalistic style. This simplistic storytelling is especially effective when reaching the end of the game, which comes around abruptly, with an empty feeling. This seems to suit the game tonally, with no ultimate conclusion, leaving the ending up to the player’s interpretation.

The actual gameplay is frustrating as hell. This is due to its Megaman style platforming, requiring precise timing and jumps. You may repeat the same screen twenty times, but you persevere, pushing forwards. On top of this, on the final stretch of the game you are not allowed to turn around, so moving forwards has to be an exact science otherwise you’ll have to play that section again.

Though frustrating, the game isn’t unforgiving. The most you really have to replay when dying is around 2 screens, which is no large feat. Also, whilst some bosses are difficult at first there is a trick to each one that is fairly easy to figure out (though the comments on Kongregate make it seem the people are incapable of understanding how to defeat the Cerberus boss).

With fun, but frustrating, gameplay and a gripping and emotional story, Don’t Look Back is a game I don’t even hesitate to recommend. It’s absolutely beautiful, with an amazing aesthetic and brilliant sound design (I have now downloaded the soundtrack). Play this game when you can. It isn’t very long, so won’t require a massive commitment, but the time you spend on it is totally worth it.