Gang Beasts Plus Puzzles Equals Human Fall Flat
Call to arms
Human Fall Flat [official site], which will be released this summer, is the work of solo developer Tomas Sakalauskas and it really does look an awful lot like Gang Beasts. More specifically, the player character looks exactly like one the jelly-people from Gang Beasts, wobbly and prone to physics-driven mishaps. Rather than fighting other jelly-people, this chap uses his arms, which are controlled independently, to manipulate objects in order to solve puzzles and progress through a series of strange environments. Take a look.
I like that the narrator of the video doesn't seem to be quite sure where to put the emphasis in the game's title so he just sort of peters out. I'd have gone with "Human Fall FLAT", I think.
He really is a little Gang Beast, isn't he? I feel like I might be exaggerating the similarity but even the way he holds onto the stereo when he throws it - sort of throwing himself - reminds me of the hundreds of times I've thrown somebody off a roof and hit the pavement right next to them. I'm still talking about Gang Beasts there; I'm far too lazy to have a fight on a roof in real life.
Human Fall Flat is about arms:
"Players control Bob's basic movement, but operate his arms independently, making his journey haphazard, hilarious and fraught with danger. Bob can pull stuff. He can push stuff. He can kick stuff. He can carry stuff. He can climb stuff. He can break stuff. And he can use stuff on other stuff to make other stuff happen."
I'd quite like Gang Beasts to pop up in every genre of game. Gang Beasts Football would be excellent, as would Gang Beasts The Sims. And a Gang Beasts racing game, in which all limbs are controlled independently and must be applied to wheel, pedals and gearstick, would be superb.
There's an early access version of the game available right now through itch.io but the full release, this summer, will be published by Curve. Buying now will get you a copy of the full game when it's released.