Elden Ring, XCOM 2, and Dead Cells are hard games in every sense. You need to learn attack patterns, master your own movement and equipment, and carefully design strategies just to ensure survival, nevermind victory. There are PC games with hard mechanics, which punish you for the slightest misstep, and then there are PC games that go directly for your soul – the actual gameplay might be simple, but every defeat is so crushing, it feels like your entire sense of worth is being worn down. Such was the case with Getting Over It, by ludic sadist Bennett Foddy. One of the hardest games in the world, and inspiration for the likes of Only Up, it now has a new spiritual successor, which is just as tough, and already earning big plaudits on Steam.
This is the suitably named A Difficult Game About Climbing. Strictly speaking, it’s a platformer, but intellectually and spiritually it feels more like a strategy game, as you carefully plot your every move, as well as methods for managing your own disappointment. The objective is to clamber, struggle, and climb over a series of increasingly difficult rock faces and obstacles. At the summit, there apparently awaits “eternal glory” and a “wonderful gift,” but whether you’ll get there depends entirely on your perseverance.
From developer Pontypants, A Difficult Game About Climbing is designed as a deliberate homage to Getting Over It, and promises both “punishing but not impossible gameplay” and “endless suffering.” Since launching on Wednesday, March 6, A Difficult Game About Climbing has already earned a coveted ‘very positive’ rating on Steam, and generated a player following in the thousands. If you want to try it for yourself, it’s available right here.
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