10mg: Always Down

I purchased the full 10 Minute Game Collection and am going to play them in the order they appear in my library. That means this is #2 of 10. Know in advance what you are getting. As the collection title suggests, a ten minute game is not a triple A title. It is a short game-jam-esque proof of concept / working prototype / execution of an idea. At least that's what I'm going to infer from first impressions. Always Down is a short game in the classic action adventure genre. We are an unnamed hero in an unnamed land on an unknown quest. All we know is that we are leaving our home village in search of... something. It is a premise as old as time; a hero's journey of discovery in which he faces his own fears and limitations, overcomes adversity and becomes greater for the experience. Controls are easy to grasp with only the left, right and up cursor keys used to move the main character. It soon becomes clear that the game title is actually a playing instruction, and we must guide our little hero ever down, deeper into the subterranean world. Graphics are as simple as can be. Player character is a little block much like in Thomas Was Alone. In fact, the visuals are quite similar to that title, with a large cavernous play area and nice use of 2d light and shadow effects. There is also a nice little jumping deformation on the player sprite which imbues the little geometric shape with much more character. Audio is great. There are some fun sound effects and some dialogue, but it is the inclusion of some Beethoven as the background music that really injects personality into the game. It harkens back to old Looney Tunes cartoons, while also providing a rather amusingly epic score for proceedings. Playtime is short, but I will have another quick game to see if there are any alternative routes or little details I missed. Two games down in the collection now, and so far both have been very enjoyable. Always Down for a good time.