I Wish The World Was Like This -- The Floor is Jelly Review

Written By: Tyler Selig

Rating: 9/10

Verdict: The Floor is Jelly uses its novel concept of, you know, the floor being jelly to offer a different kind of puzzle-platformer. It’s smart, but might not be as complex as some people would want. It also has incredible music and is a mostly relaxing, beautiful experience.

The Floor is Jelly is the first game I’ve played this year – out of about 7 or 8 – that I would consider legitimately great. It is built around the idea that the floor is jelly, so one can imagine before they even play it what that will entail. I don’t know what you’re supposed to be in it, but you go from stage to stage while solving puzzles and jumping your way to victory.

The developer had a pretty simple idea: what would everything be like if it’s jelly? Well, it’d be a hell of a lot of fun. The things you jump on bend and twist like jelly would, and you can use this to your advantage by using it to jump higher. Or it can make things more difficult because you’re not on solid ground so there’s always that uneasy feeling of not being completely balanced. I have to say though that I’m in love with the idea and I was sold on it as soon as I heard about it.

The puzzles are not incredibly difficult, but there are definitely some that gave me a hard time. I got stuck on one for a while, and a couple others made me actually think. The Floor is Jelly switches things up constantly though, with each area offering a new twist, not unlike a game like Braid. Whether it’s going into the water or having to jump on things in order, to a low-gravity section, there is enough variety here to keep you entertained in the relatively short time you’re immersed in this world. It helps that the game is polished and I ran into very few hiccups, and they were minor at worst. However, in regards to the complexity of the puzzles, it didn’t seem like the developer was really trying to stress you out, as most of the game is actually pretty relaxing and beautiful. It is very easy to get lost in this world, and that's definitely a good thing.

In the beginning there was... jelly?

It’s not really the visuals that make it beautiful, though there is something to be said for the minimalist approach that it took. Sure, a lot of it is just shapes with no details, but there are subtle touches that lend a feeling of importance. For example, as you walk over certain sections, flowers will spout out. It’s a simple detail but it’s effective. The game also makes excellent use of colours. I don’t think it’ll win anything in “visuals of the year” this year, but the style works for it.

The music should win awards though, and I’ll definitely include it. Disasterpeace returns to do the soundtrack and it adds a great deal to the experience. It’s often very subtle as good ambient music is, and it lends a sense of atmosphere to the entire thing. Sometimes the audio is very minimal to the point that there may only be some sounds, but a song will creep in eventually and it’ll be wonderful. Or a song will be playing the entire area and it’s some of the most beautiful stuff you’ll hear. There are some interesting shifts in tone but I won’t get into them because I don’t want to spoil anything.

I don’t really know if there’s a story, and maybe the developer had something in mind. I only say this because as the game progresses, slightly odd things start happening. I won’t go into a lot of detail concerning this, but it was rather unexpected and it was awesome to see the game go a little off its hinges in the way that it did. I would really like to know what it all is supposed to mean or if it’s just a cool gameplay mechanic that he wanted to include.

When you combine all the elements of The Floor is Jelly, it’s an odd thing to say but it feels like a “big” indie game. It’s the type of game that truly impresses me and leaves me in a state of awe. Games before it like Braid and Limbo may offer different experiences, but despite how different they look… they sort-of accomplish the same thing, ultimately. Sure, The Floor is Jelly is less serious and has a silly concept of jumping around on jelly but these types of games are what gaming is all about.

Sega Dreamcast Launch Party - Livin' Like It's 1998

Written By: Tyler Selig

Ooooh you can see my sexy pajama pants.

Over the past year we have seen the 3DS become an absolute mammoth of a system, the release of the Xbone and PS4 and we've also seen the Wii U fall into a downward spiral so bad that Trent Reznor should re-release his album and call it the Wii U Experience... but I'm playing the mother fuckin' Dreamcast. Okay, I'm also playing my 3DS, Wii U, PS4 and PC (sorry Microsoft, I don't have the money), but I recently bought a Sega Dreamcast. Before I go into what that entails, let me quickly explain why.

When I was younger, I owned the Nintendo systems and got into the Playstation 1 (see how bad the Xbox One name is Microsoft? This would be really confusing had I said Xbox 1), but I had this friend who had Sega's last system -- the Dreamcast. To this day I've only ever played a handful of games from when he let me borrow it or I'd go to his house and play games like Powerstone 2. I was in a retro gaming mood so I opted to buy a console that I never owned. I originally considered the Saturn but the price of a bunch of the games I really wanted were ridiculously high so I decided on the Dreamcast because while some games I'm intrigued by, such as illbleed, are also pricey, there are some games I want to play that are reasonably priced, at least for retro games.

Shenmue is in the agenda once it gets back in stock on Lukie Games, and there are some others I hope to get, but I bought MDK2, Slave Zero and Jet Grind Radio. I heard great things about MDK2 and Jet Grind Radio, and I've never heard of Slave Zero and it was cheap so I took a chance.

I am looking to do this article which is just basically an "unboxing" type article, followed by reviews of the games I bought. Now, I will still be doing reviews for new games and other articles so this party is being scattered throughout the year. All year baby!

So what is the Dreamcast and why did I want it? Simply put, it is the Sega swansong, at least for consoles. After this they became the software only company that we know them as now. It was a very innovative system, pioneering online gameplay on consoles for example, and the influence is clear in the first Xbox (just peep that controller). It is actually held in high regard by a lot of people who experienced it and the games I have played for it have been pretty awesome, like Crazy Taxi or Powerstone 2. Hell, I first played Virtua Tennis on it and I fell in love with a Tennis game of all things.

I originally intended on just having a quick introduction but shit I'm wordy today. So let's get on with the show.



The first thing I actually did was try to put my VMU -- the memory card -- into my controller. I have never come across a more confusing memory card in my life. First of all, the thing reminds me of a Tamagotchi (not a criticism), and then went I set the date, I thought, "Okay, now it's time to put this bad boy in." This is where the readers probably end up thinking I'm stupid, and I've made peace with that, but it confused me. I thought you would just put it in right-side up but boy was I wrong. I didn't even realize that you had to take the top off of it and when I did it just confused me because I couldn't fathom a world where you had to put the memory card -- which has a screen you can look at -- in upside down because that would mean your picture would be upside down. Or so I thought.

So when I finally accepted that the Dreamcast is weird, I put it in upside down.

THE WAY YOU THINK IT WOULD GO IN.

The bottom picture is when I actually put it in correctly but I turned off the screen. It's been a long time since I messed with a Dreamcast and I forgot how silly the whole thing is, in the coolest way possible. The memory card has buttons like a controller. You set the date on the memory card. The memory card has a life of its own and is going to become Overlord of the entire planet and/or universe.

So having made me feel like an inadequate man, I decided that once I had the controller matter under control that I'd actually turn on the Dreamcast and play this shit. But first I took a second to admire the supper that my little brother was eating as he watched me hook up the rest of the Dreamcast.

I couldn't get a signal on my TV but it turns out I just hadn't pressed the cords in hard enough. That's good because had this not worked I would have been like:

Unfortunately the guy on the right would have been my little brother just enjoying his BLT.

So finally, after a close scare and WTF VMU, I got to this screen:

I considered leaving it on 1998 because maybe it's a secret way to time travel and I wouldn't have had to deal with the movie Shutter being released yet, but alas, I put in the real date and continued on with my life.

My life took me to this screen, which strangely felt like home. It filled me with such a beautiful feeling in my soul. A warmth in my heart that was so intense it could heat up the coldest areas. I saw the Sega screen, and remembered the Sega Genesis, a system I was quite fond of back when Little Tyler was me and I hadn't yet conquered the internet with a video game blog.

So where do we go from here? Well, here, silly people:

 To be continued.

On The Gamely Episode 6 - Kingdom of Amalur, NSA spies, Minecraft and More!

Hey what's up! Time for a new episode of On The Gamely:
http://youtu.be/PIzGzYEqnb4