Review: Level Up!

Level Up! (PC Flash game)

Level Up! is a free flash game I found on Newgrounds a while back. It involves 2 main characters known only as “The Boy” and “The Girl” who have both lost their memories. You play as The Girl who awakes one day to find that The Boy has somehow crashed through her fence, breaking it. The two argue and we learn that this world is based around people being certain levels in skills. The Boy claims he has been brought to level 0 jumping, so he is unable to jump at all. The plot gets a little deeper than that, but if I go any further I'll be into spoiler territory. Gameplay time. Gameplay in this game is a basic platforming style, but with a major twist. Everything you do has a level attached to it. Yes, Everything. Running, jumping, healing, taking damage, collecting gems, talking to people, even idling. As you do more of each action, you level up and are able to do more with that skill. For example, level 1 running means you walk everywhere. Once you have walked enough to reach level 2, you will be able to move at a slow run. Your skills max out at level 5. The world the game takes place in features several areas with some NPCs around. These NPCs will say various things, some giving or selling skills. When you run out of time in the day, The Girl goes home and sleeps. Every night she has a nightmare where a shadow is trying to kill her. This part is essentially the boss fight of the game. You don't have to win this fight, but if you lose, the next day you will be dropped to level 1 for all skills and have to fight the boss the next night as well. Any skills you buy or earn, however, are kept. The boss is tough. Chances are, it will take you a few tries to win. Leveling isn't required to win it, but any extra levels or skills you have will make it that much easier on you.

Overall, it's a very fun little game. It's short, but what do you expect for free? The only major complaint I would have is that winning the boss fight in the dream world isn't required. If you manage to level yourself up enough in any one day, you can reach the game ending sequence. I won't spoil that, but it does take place outside of the dream world. There's not a ton of game here, but it's free and short, so check it out Here.
Final Score: 8/10

There's also a sequel in the works. There's a link to the dev's page on the Newgrounds page.