The Top is one of the best games I've ever played. Yes, it takes a heavy inspiration from Celeste. Yes, it is pretty short. And yes, the graphics are not for everyone. However, as someone who has played and fully completed a bunch of precision platformers, I can say with quite an authority that this game is worth playing. For the constraints of a very small indie dev team, this manages to rival some of my favorites in terms of fun, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone that is a fan of the genre. That's my TL;DR, but there is a lot more to discuss.
Firstly, there is no problem with the game being about some guy climbing a mountain while also having a dash mechanic. Just because the basic concept is kinda like Celeste obviously doesn't matter, but I've still seen a few people say this like it's a bad thing. No. The mechanics, the story, the styilization, everything is different and any criticism that comes from that direction is very useless and the lowest hanging fruit. With that out of the way, a summary.
At first, the game is just a fun little platformer with a cool new mechanic I've not much seen in these types of games. The multitasking of switching the environment while also trying to climb that same environment is very unique, and at least with controller makes you feel like a badass. I think one of the main reasons this game works so well is that the controls have basically no flaws whatsoever, and so long as your controller doesn't die mid-jump (like me), you'll always be left knowing it was your fault for dying.
As you progress through the screens you'll notice not only the very well put together difficulty scaling, but also how great the level design is. There is not a failure among them. Each screen almost effortlessly expands upon the mechanics, progressing well from room to room and challenging the player with relentless ideas! One thing I dislike about other platformers is that the design either feels boring or it oscillates wildly in difficulty. This game dodges that completely with only a few rooms being easier than the last in the ENTIRE game.
Not only that, but with each area progressed, bits and pieces of the story will be revealed to you. Where things like Meatboy or VVVVVV struggle, The Top excels. I'll say it right now, this game almost made me break down in tears. It is the type of game that gives you back the same amount you put into it. If you take the time to find the secrets, you will come to care immensely about that group of twenty pixels. Great care is put into dialog to the point that you'll want to play the game over and over again, taking the hardest path just to see an extra sentence or two! Not to mention that each little snippet is vague, but when you have the full picture it all snaps together in the most satisfying way.
If you just want to just get the normal ending and never touch the game again, first of all I'd say you're insane. But after that, I'd tell you that it would probably take around an hour and a half, depending on how good at games you are. Considering that I'd say a full completion with no guides would take around seven to ten hours, I think you can see why you'd be selling yourself short. Let me go into even more detail.
There are secrets, and each secret leads you to an extra world of around ten screens, if my memory serves me. These screens are hard as ♥♥♥♥, and yet still manage to be a natural progression of difficulty for the game. They test your ability, and if you pass you are rewarded with more story. If you pass them all, you are rewarded with the true ending. Finding these secrets is some of the most fun I've had in the game, having to get familiar with the game itself and likely requiring more than a half dozen replays, each time getting better and better as a warm-up lap for the secrets themselves. (Also, if you're into speedrunning, there's a built in timer!)
To wrap this up (because I've typed far more than I expected to), I'd recommend this game to anyone that likes platformers. That is the main focus of the game after all, and even if you aren't that into secret finding like me you'll still desperately want to find the answers out for yourself. That combined with a great story and memorable character *wink*, you get an experience that is more than worth its five dollar price tag.
