Run, Jump, Slide, wall grab and survive in this action platformer based on the popular web series.
General Gameplay
In this action/platformer from the beloved web series, you must survive from room to room with deadly traps that are designed to punish you at every turn. Your objective is to manage to get from room to room and survive. The Game Visuals for Never Give Up are very sharp and clear. Everything from the backgrounds, enemies, traps, and the main character are very well drawn and easy to see. The colors are very bright using a lot of blues, greens and other bright characters. As the game is colorful, there is no colorblind mode, however it is not needed as the game colors are well done enough to see on both the mobile console and the SMART TV. In our playtesting we had some concerns as the game is rated T – For Teen, some of the graphic deaths that are shown of the main character can be graphic on the screen. We will go over this more in our Family Friendly section in more detail. Audio in the game is very well done. The game shines in its audio presentation and while playing the game you can hear the crisp sounds from the game. Everything from the background music, to objects and even in game chatter is done clear enough where it is easily heard from both the mobile console as well speakers. Now the game does have spoken dialog, as there is spoken dialog there are words that are bleeped out during gameplay. We got a chance to try out the sound settings on both the mobile console as well on a surround sound and the game sounds fine in both settings. We would recommend using a headset while playing the game on the Nintendo Switch when on the go as it gives a better audio experience. In our playtesting, we did not find anything outside of the language being bleeped out to be offensive to any gamers from the ages of 10 and older. Controls in Never Give Up are very easy to use and learn. As the game nature to be an action/platformer, the controller setting must also be very responsive and sharp, and they are. The game controls are very easy to pick up and play the game and both newer gamers and veterans to action/platformers will have no trouble playing the game on a standard controller or on the Nintendo Switch Joy-Conns controllers. In our playtesting, we did not run into any issues with our gaming family when it came to play the game with the default controller settings or on the Nintendo Switch in mobile mode.
“A punishing but rewarding action/platformer, Never Give Up is challenging enough for veteran games but approachable enough to be a fun game for everyone!”
Family Friendly
One thing that we have learned about reviewing games for all gaming members of a gaming family is that frustrating game, especially ones where you die a lot can become not fun and even cause gamers to go into a rage fit with the game and this was our first concern with Never Give Up. Anyone that has played games like Super Meat Boy or even Atomik: rungunjumpgun will know that it is all about how accurate you with punishing platformers are all about how enjoyable can they be and also if the entire gaming family can play the game without frustration because of the design. With Never Give Up, the first thing that we will say is that you will die a lot, but before you feel that this is a bad thing, hear us out. The game is designed around the ability of you to learn from your mistakes. Once you play the game, you have a better understanding of how the game mechanics work, from running, wall hugging, sliding and even when to time your jumps. Once the understanding is established, this is where the game shines. Yes, it is punishing, and the game can get very difficult in later levels. (The game has over 250 levels, including boss battle levels.) but there is a rhythm to the levels flow and design. Once you understand how the level works and how enemies’ patters, weapon fire, traps and other things that get in the way effect the level, then you can better conquer the level and move onto the next. The punishing difficulty is designed to show you how to better accomplish your level run and be better experienced to deal with the following level. Now one of the things that made this game even better is that on the easy mode, there are in level checkpoints where if you fail you can restart from the checkpoint vs. restarting the level itself. This makes the game easier to be approached by newer gamers to action/platformers. In our playtesting we did notice some of our older and younger gamers getting a little upset with the game, but once we set the game to easy mode, they enjoyed the game a whole lot more. Now again Never Give Up is not for everyone. The game is very fast paced in its designed so gamers in your gaming family that are not used to the gameplay style of the game may not enjoy it. Again, we cannot stress this enough, expect to DIE A LOT, BUT THIS IS THE DESIGN OF THE GAME. So be ready for this. Overall the game is a lot of fun and we feel that the gamers that love action, platformers, or even hard games will be in love with this game. Another thing that we wanted to mention is the level of graphic violence in the game. As the game is about seeing you die, a lot, there are some animations of the game character dying. Now there are graphic, but not as graphic as things that you would see in games like Mortal Kombat or other violent games out there, best advice we can give is to watch videos of the game in motion and come to the best conclusion for what is best for the gamers in your family. In our special needs game testing, outside of the difficult nature of the game, we did not encounter any issues with the game graphics, audio or controls. Never Give Up is very special needs gaming friendly.
Closing
Never Give Up is a great action/platformer that is punishing but rewarding game to play. The dynamic design of the levels makes the game a great challenge and the voice acting of Arin Hanson makes the game even more fun to hear him speak. A great game for your gaming family members that love fast paced games like this.
