I Just Finished Human Fall Flat | Game’s Over Review
The least creative thing to say after having played this game is that Human Fall Flat falls flat. And I’m mentally exhausted after playing the game, so that’s what I’ll say. Human Fall Flat falls flat.
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The credits have rolled on Human Fall Flat. You play as Bob, a Pillsbury Doughboy character that, based on the game’s minimal introductory narration, seems to be sort of blank slate learning how to be human. A body with the soul not yet installed. A ragdoll with ragdoll physics. And these physics are where the central conceit of the game–learning how to be human–aligns with its mechanics. Learning how to be human means learning how to move each individual arm, how to jump, how to climb, and how to grasp objects. This is fun and even funny. At first.
Given the unpredictability of ragdoll physics, a game mechanic that depends on controlling your character limb-by-limb is inevitably going to cause some problems. Precision is a requirement in this game, but the game seems to actively deny the player the ability to be precise. As the game moves to its final levels, the difficulty ramps up in that it requires the player to be even more precise. This means the game gets hard in a way that cannot be reliably overcome by practice. You’re relying a lot on luck with Human Fall Flat.
Additionally, the camera can be incredibly annoying. The camera cannot be operated independently of your character. When you move the camera, your character pivots with it. Or, rather, as you move the character, the camera tries to remain tethered to the back of your character. This tethering is probably a game development necessity considering each limb moves independently in 3D space, meaning the analog sticks are mapped already to body movement and limb movement so they cannot be mapped to camera movement. But not being able to reliably see where to jump or where to place your hand means the game feels frustrating by design. Purposefully frustrating your player is not good design.
Speaking of design, the levels range from brilliantly designed to abhorrent. On the abhorrent side, It’s often difficult to know where to go. Compounding this confusion is that the game also wants the player to explore the space to find new ways to solve its puzzles and to leverage the physics engine to creative ends. But this meant I found myself constantly wondering if what I was doing and where I was going was by design of the game makers or if I was putting myself in an inescapable predicament. The latter happened a lot. The checkpoint and level restart options will become your friends.
The game case copy says “given the right tools [Bob] can do a lot. Misuse the tools and he can do even more,” implying that the developers of the game want and encourage players to look for ways to “break” the game. So, in general, I was comfortable with most of the meandering and trial-and-error. But, when that meandering and trial-and-error are subject to the same insistence cum resistance to precision, then the thrill of exploring and finding a shortcut eventually becomes a celebration not of your own creativity but of the game being closer to its end.
I’ve been harping a lot on the ragdoll physics of this game being its own point-counter-point, but ragdoll physics as a central mechanic can be fun. The Goat Simulator series has been doing it for years. But Human Fall Flat demands a level of control that Goat Simulator understands is impossible. Human Fall Flat is the anti Goat Simulator.
With all this negativity I’m giving the game, you might be surprised to hear that I’m actually going to recommend it for fans of 3D puzzle platformers. But, I caution any player to be comfortable walking away as soon as it gets frustrating. Don’t punish yourself if you aren’t having fun. The game doesn’t get any more forgiving as you progress. Wait for a digital sale, then have some fun for a few hours.
Credits/Mentioned
Music Credits
8bit Dungeon Level Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
