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Review: LOVE

At a Glance

ESRB Rating: NR - Not Rated
My Rating: Everyone
Genre: Platformer
License: Commercial
Fun-O-Meter:
Release Year: 2014
Review Published On: August 27th, 2016
Played on: Martha

Available on:

Windows
Linux

Available from:

Steam

Soundtrack: Available as DLC
Areas of Concern:
  • Very mild violence


How to Save and Pause:

You cant save your progress. Instead, as you progress in the game youll unlock access to the various levels in the level select menu.

Should you need to pause, simply hit ESC.

Time needed per session:

While this is a short game, it may take you a few minutes to get in the zone and really enjoy it, so plan on playing for at least ten minutes.

Does this game pose issues for Christian players?

No - this is a great game for Christians
One of the benefits simple games is that there isnt much room for offensive content.

Screenshots

[view screenshot]
Running under spikes

[view screenshot]
Running by deadly chemicals

[view screenshot]
Running past giant saws



Game Overview

Love is a homage to old school computer games, and it focuses solely on running through various levels as quickly as possible. Theres no story or point, other than the challenge of surviving the many obstacles in your way.

Since this is a very stripped down platformer, all you do is run to the left or right followed by jumping or dropping to the next platform. Since the odds of dying are extremely high, you can also set a checkpoint as you run along. When you inevitably drop down a bottomless pit or touch something you shouldnt, youll respawn back at your checkpoint and start running all over again. Amusingly, the animation of your character running has their arms trailing behind them, as if they were simply careening around on a sugar rush.

Although there isnt much to the game, there are several game modes to provide the player with different challenges. The first mode gives you 100 lives to try and survive all of the different levels. The speedrun mode is more lenient, giving you infinite lives, but as the name implies it rates you based on how quickly you make it through the levels rather than how many times you die.

The final mode, aptly named YOLO mode, has you attempt to clear all of the levels without dying once. This is pretty challenging, but skilled players might be able to pull it off.

Points of Interest

Achievements and Trading Cards

Since its on Steam, it includes community features, such as Steam trading cards and Achievements.

Your only enemy is yourself

This game challenges the players reflexes, but thats about it. Whether or not you succeed is entirely based on how skilled you are.

A little nostalgic

All of the levels are done using limited color palettes and use 8-bit sounds, making this feel like the games many players grew up with in the early years of computer games.

Not for everyone

Unfortunately, the game is little more than a romp through various challenges. This can be entertaining for a bit, but the novelty wears off after playing it for a while.

Concerns and Issues

Very mild violence

Touching anything white or falling past the bottom of the screen kills the player character. When killed, one of several animations is played, and most of these are nods to old computer games. Theres nothing actually graphic here however, as this typically amounts to having the player character flicker out, fall over, or fly away with a halo.