We previously reported that a new title was coming to Switch via one of our favourite indie publishers, Flynn’s Arcade, well, said game is due out next Thursday, and we’ve been playing it in advance of its release, so, if you can muster up the motivation to read it, here’s our Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling Switch review.
The question about whether or not games are art has been pondered for decades now, but Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling would seem to suggest that video games can be art.
Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling uses our beloved medium of video games to explore living with stress (in this case brought on by studying medicine), and perhaps even depression, as several of the despondent female protagonist’s woes are certainly consistent with depression.
We’ve certainly come a long way from Pong, anyway! And while we at Fusion R Gamer enjoy nothing more than making colourful sprites jump around platforms or indeed making colourful sprites shoot other colourful sprites, that’s not all there is to video games for us, and nor should it be.
So, we do appreciate a change of pace sometimes, and we’re definitely fans of how some of today’s indie game developers are using the medium to explore more serious topics.
So, then, Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling is about the life of a stressed young woman, but how does it play? The game is a short psychological adventure that plays somewhere between a visual novel and a point-and-click adventure, leaning more closely towards the former.
The game boasts a pleasing understated manga-influenced visual style, that’s slightly woozy, as is befitting for the subject matter. The game also uses sound to great effect, helping to create an atmosphere of unease. But it’s not all doom and gloom (even though it mostly is.) Completing a task, and thus reaching a checkpoint gives one a real sense of achievement, echoing how one suffering from stress or depression may feel a sense of accomplishment upon completing a task.
Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling is certainly an engrossing and entertaining game, but it’s so successful in its aim to capture the experience of feeling stressed to breaking point that one couldn’t describe playing it as “fun”, so while it’s a very good and incredibly effective gaming experience, it’s also perhaps not for everyone. But if you like the idea of a psychological adventure game that effectively creates a sense of stress and despondency while also telling an intriguing tale of mystery, then we unreservedly. recommend Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling And it’s less than three quid on the eshop! You can pre-order the game now, prior to its release on 29th February 2024.
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