"If" is a game about exploring your emotions and past events within the mind, in order to overcome them and survive real life.
The protagonist stands at a ledge, about to jump, agonizing over past mistakes. The only way to prevent it is to go back through the fragile mind, to repeat the same mistakes, to ponder, "what if I could master these painful emotions, to use them as a strength, rather than a hindrance?
Each level is a mistake the protagonist made in life. The level is made of obstacles and enemies that represent each element of the overall mistake. The protagonist must use emotions to overcome these elements and show that the mistake could have been prevented. Be careful, however, as strong emotions take a heavy toll on the mind, and can ruin resolve in moments. Some emotions are too powerful, overwhelming to the point of a mental snap.
Movement: A moves left. D moves right. Space jumps Left Shift activates a currently selected Avatar's power. 1 summons or selects the Avatar of Anger 2 summons or selects the Avatar of Fear R dismisses the currently selected Avatar, and will allow the protagonist to cool-off.
Every time you use an emotion, your Psyche heats up with resolve. If your Psyche overheats, however, you'll burn out completely. Your Willpower, your will to live, slowly depletes in each level, darkening your vision. It can be damaged further by enemies and environmental hazards... until eventually, you just might give up, as your mind goes completely dark, choosing to relinquish your life.
Impressive game, but I could not finish it ... I always got stucked between two platforms in second level and couldn ´t fall down. But the heavy mood was really captivating.
Quite an interesting concept, making a playable metaphor for depression to help others understand it (and vent, probably). The backstory/intro added an enormous amount of weight. Nice art with a solid theme, and appropriate music/sound.
Two things kept me from finishing: One, the platforming is sketchy, I keep running off the edge because my jumps fail. Two, when I listen to characters the darkness keeps closing it. It also reverted me back to the first level after I let my emotion get out of hand, so I gave up.
I'm sure you've probably heard this before, but there are help lines you can call that might help you sort things out if you're feeling crushed.
I really liked the mood and the art of the game. It's a bit confusing to play and sometimes I couldn't land proprely on the platforms. Overall nicely done :).
Comments20
Two things kept me from finishing: One, the platforming is sketchy, I keep running off the edge because my jumps fail. Two, when I listen to characters the darkness keeps closing it. It also reverted me back to the first level after I let my emotion get out of hand, so I gave up.
I'm sure you've probably heard this before, but there are help lines you can call that might help you sort things out if you're feeling crushed.