Taken for a Quickie | 140

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Don’t be put off by the nonsense title, 140 from Double Fine and Abstraction Games is the digital equivalent of one of those delicious macarons we all love to put away - short lived, yet satisfyingly sweet.

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by Sam
​Sant

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@SlamShotSam

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Developer: Abstraction
Games
Publisher: Double
Fine
Platforms: Xbox
One, PS4, PS Vita, Wii U, 3DS, PC, Mac
Players: 1 

140? Doesn’t give much away, what’s it all about?

It’s a precision platformer that relies on a keen ear and quick reflexes. Objects in the environment each move, or phase in and out, based on a beat of the layered music track, which means you’ll need to identify and link the two in order to know when it’s appropriate to act.

If you’ve played Rez, you’ll already be familiar with the euphoric feeling of synesthesia that ensues; it’s as though you’ve transcended to control the world at your whim when everything’s coming up roses. You’ll feel more like a toddler with a tambourine when it’s not.

Synesthesia sounds cool, but I suck at precision platformers…

Whilst you’ll need some basic platforming skills to see you through, being an audiophile arguably proves a greater advantage than being, for example, a seasoned Meat Boy player.

​Good to hear! Presumably the audio’s great with it being such a focus?

Yes, it’s outstanding. Beats are added as levels progress to increase the complexity of gameplay, yet the process never devolves a track into a busily jumbled mess, instead each audio cue remains precisely clear. You get a real appreciation for how each track was put together as a result, to the point you can picture it in an editing software.

​Does it look as good as it sounds?

That depends. We can appreciate its simplistic and colourful visuals, integrated world with no menu or load screens, and the charmingly animated, shapeshifting transitions of the player icon. Others will take issue with the fact 140 hardly leverages the power of the platforms it’s available on.

It’s as though you’ve transcended to control the world at your whim when everything’s coming up roses. You’ll feel more like a toddler with a tambourine when it’s not.

You mentioned it was short, how short are we talking?

It’s not very long at all, sadly. It took less than two hours to complete the game’s three levels, as well as two of the three mirrored versions that flip perspective and feature no checkpoints.

If you’re masochistic enough to tackle the final mirror stage, expect a significant boost, but most will have the smarts to concede to the final boss without continues on their side.

Bosses, you say?

Yep, one awaits you at the end of each stage and they’re all uniquely brilliant. We won’t spoil any specifics.

When all’s said and done, would you recommend 140?

If you don’t have two left thumbs, definitely. It’s an engaging mix of genres that has a small price tag to offset its little lifespan.

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Whaddya know, you also play as a square in Inversus, the last game we took for a quickie. Check it out if you’re a fan of regular polygons in general.