Negativeland: Eversion

Michael Castle (who sounds like an action here, if ever there was one) alerts us that indie platformer Eversion has cropped up on Steam. Which is, of course, good news for its creator Guilherme S Tows, aka Zaratustra Productions, but may mean almost nothing to you. Thing is, you can rectify that very easily.

About a year and a half ago, Zaratusta submitted Eversion to a TIGsource compo, but in a rather more lo-fi state than it is now. This means that, essentially, the entire game is its own demo - once you've established that you like it, you pay to make it slicker and prettier. I can almost imagine some publisher deliberately employing that kind of strategy to try and defeat the trade-in market...

You're going to think Eversion is Mario. Eversion is not Mario.

I don't want to go too much into just how it pulls the rug from under your feet, but suffice to say it's big on changing the world around you. Sometimes you make that happen - via the titular Eversion mechanic, which opens up (or closes) various pathways, as well as altering the game's aesthetic - other times it just drops something weird/intense and often really rather difficult on you.

This isn't a leisurely Sunday - it's go-go-go platforming, often with a chunk of Metroid-style backtracking in there, even as you're pursued by things. "A razor blade in a candied apple", said one pundit, and apart from getting 'candy apple' wrong, he's right. This is cruel, in a good way.

The new Steam version adds high-res graphics, Achievements and time trail modes. It's only £3 at present too, which is very much money well spent if you 'do' the platforming 'thing.' The hoary old (but still lovely) first, free take is here - but seriously, spend that £3.