Written by Bob Parks

“A sharp new title for a long running genre that I enthusiastically avoid”

As a disclaimer, I have to tell you I’m not the biggest fan of roguelikes. I have played my fair share of them, trying to give them a fair shake. While I appreciate them for what they are, I just don’t go out of my way to find them. I don’t think they’re an inherently bad genre but they aren’t what I seek when I look for a game. For the uninitiated, roguelikes are procedurally generated levels, so no two games will run the same, the level complexity and difficulty rising the further you progress.

So with that said, the 1st notch in Firestoke’s 16 bit themed game belt is super charming and equally punishing. You get to play as (and swap between at any time) either Giorgio or Felicie, a misadventurous couple that truly missed… Adventuring. This is portrayed in the short animatic clips that frame the short and sweet backstory and subsequently bookend each area they visit as they get further through the worlds. Very charming design and attention to sprite animation really breathe life into the duo.

***Falling Out*** **- Giorgio** and **Felicie in Egypt.**

You have the ability to bank your “filthy lucre” (depending on your difficulty) as well as buying and upgrading weapons in-between levels via the bumbling Azar, a shopkeeper who seems to enjoy getting just as lost as our lead couple. Speaking of the pair, each character has a special set of moves or abilities which you need in order to progress, access difficult areas and survive the dangers of each area (Giorgio’s double jump is a gas). All the skills put together properly will hopefully get you as much loot as you can handle and get you out of there safely before the timer goes off and the temple floods. And if you’re not playing this with a friend, it gets hairy trying to force these two through the exit at the same time while running out of breath— but I’ll touch on that in a bit. The controls feel tight, but the knock back seems floaty which isn’t enough to fault the game for my performance.

Falling Out is actually very accessible and should be proud for setting itself apart from the crowd with its whimsy and humor. Too bad it’s undercut with the frustrations I have with needing to control two different characters with different abilities(forgetting which button controlled what on who- etc). I spent tens of minutes at one point in a level constantly dying because I was setting off a trap in front of my partner or I was trying to get one of them to exit while the other swam away- or vice versa. I did try playing with another person and while it solved several issues I was having, it opened up even more - specifically friendly fire. To reiterate this isn’t a knock on the game itself. I’m glad to have a challenge and as these games are designed to be progressively challenging it’s not as if they’ve been trying to deceive you this entire time. Perhaps I’ve been playing too many first person shooters, or maybe I need to take the time until I can truly be fulfilled by 16bit headache inducing entertainment. Or maybe I’m definitely not in the mindset for it now, and that’s fine. Or maybe they need to work on there telegraphing during boss fights because it does get messy with all the sprites clogging up the area to see where the fresh hel— I digress. Is it something I can enjoy being mad at for a few hours a week? Sure. Is it the type of game to enchant everyone? No, but it was definitely good looking enough to entice me to ram my head into a metaphorical brick wall repeatedly(which you are actually encouraged to do in game).

***Falling Out*** - swimming in the Alaska level.

***Falling Out*** - swimming in the Maya level.

For what it is, I believe Firestoke did an admirable job with their hugely inviting entry into the roguelike sphere of influence. One that I will continue viewing with admiration while keeping a respectful distance from.

You can purchase Falling Out for yourself on

Steam

Nintendo eShop

PlayStation Store

Microsoft Store

Official Press Release

October 6th, 2022—Take control of two accidental adventurers in FALLING OUT, a light-hearted roguelite platformer out now for PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. The title from developer PolyCrunch Games and publisher Firestoke benefits from a launch discount of20% across all platforms.

In FALLING OUT you take control of oddball couple Giorgio and Felicie on the holiday from hell.Navigate randomly generated ancient temples while finding treasures, dodging traps, slayingenemies, and crafting weapons. On your adventure you’ll run into the equally lost, but ratherhelpful, shopkeeper, Azar and extremely frightening end of world bosses!

FALLING OUT features a number of inventive game modes designed to appeal to different playstyles and keep the fun flowing. Players can swap between the two main characters in thesingle-player campaign to utilize their unique traits, or choose their favourite and play with afriend in local co-op or versus modes.

No matter how you play, Giorigio and Felicie will have to put theirdifferences aside and work as a team in order to escape before the temple floods!

The title is the first game release for developer PolyCrunch Games and publisher Firestoke.

Upon the release Neville Attard, founder of PolyCrunch commented; “I’m excited that players across the world, and on multiple platforms, can now enjoy the retro inspired, roguelike, platform fun of FALLING OUT.” Paul Farley, CEO of Firestoke added “It’s been a pleasure working with PolyCrunch Games to craft and publish such a lovely game. We know that players are going to love the madcap nature, silly humour and pure joy of FALLING OUT and look forward to sharing that fun with them!“

Features:

●Play with two characters at a time in single player mode, or join with a friend in localco-op and versus modes.

●Easily switch between characters to use their unique abilities.

●Deep metagame-decode blueprints, buy objects and collect scraps to build weaponsand items that will help you overcome the unknown perils ahead.

●Procedurally generated roguelike levels. Each play session is unique.

●Explore, navigate, and survive worlds full of ghastly ancient creatures.

●Challenge yourself to set the global best score in the daily pyramid

●Relive your most hilarious moments with slow motion replay

FALLING OUT is available now with a 20% launch discount on Nintendo Switch™, Xbox One™,Xbox Series™, Playstation 4™, Playstation 5™and PC Steam.

Nerd News

Falling Out - A Review of Firestoke's New 16-Bit Roguelike