That Level Again 1-3 will have you wondering why you’re having fun
That Level Again, and its two sequels, is a game I had no belief going in that it would grab me hook, line, and sinker. I was dragged into two days on battery draining, head scratching, phone shaking amusement that had me attempting to describe to the people why I found it so pleasingly weird.
The first That Level Again game you’re in a room, and you have to get out. Once you get out you’re in that room again but something beside the title of the room (which is always a hint to how to play the room,) has changed. Examples of the changes might be that gravity is now weak, or that suddenly you have to tilt your phone to control your character, or that you have to get off your butt and walk to a charger and plug your phone in because there’s not enough power to open the door.
The breaking of that fifth wall I guess amused me to no ends, although once again explaining to my wife that a game made me get up and go find a charger don’t translate particularly well.
Oh, and there’re death spikes… can’t forget about the death spikes.
The second installment of That Level Again now has you in two rooms. The room with the exit, and a random room you access via a door. And death spikes. Various highlights include not believing your eyes, playing on the room 2 board with the room 1 obstacles invisibly in your space and vice versa, and creative ways to open the door.
The third That Room Again involves two games really – a levels mode and some sort of XKCD-feeling love story in which you end up tag teaming levels with your love. Sometimes you control them both, sometimes you switch between their controls, and sometimes it’s just a pain.
The third game is the only one I’ve had to skip a level due to ROM limitations. Basically at one point the solution is to change the time on your phone and, well, there’s no option that seemed to work. Thankfully it lets you skip after forcing you to watch a 30 second video and then telling you the solution.
After my third or fourth run through the second half of episode 3 (ending up at the starting level, again,) I ended up going to the internet for help and immediately felt like I’d been missing the entire point of everything that the game had been teaching me.
Oh, it taught me how to do everything, and I forgot in the room that tells you to remember.
And it’s great.
The advertising is as follows: pretty much none unless you want a hint and then you get to watch a video. I think in the third installment there’s a five second advertisement in one of the rooms but I don’t think it had anything particularly annoying.
The first two installments can be played completely without charge, the third you will have to make a purchase if you want the sad and depressing ending. I wasn’t particularly interested in the sad and depressing ending, and it can be seen on YouTube if you’re really wondering.
Anyway, the series is great, highly recommend it if you enjoy brain twisters.
Google Play: That Level Again, That Level Again 2, That Level Again 3
