You remember QWOP, don’t you? (Now on iPad!) Of course you do — it almost spawned a meme, and you can’t hear Chariots of Fire without seeing the bruised and broken body of QWOP‘s nameless protagonist.
Today, Bennett Foddy released GIRP, “a spiritual sequel” to QWOP: a lone freeclimber — I’m going to name him Girp — must scale a sheer rock-face or plunge to a watery death. Watching Girp’s arms and shoulders bend and dislocate as he clings, literally, to dear life is gruesomely voyeuristic. It’s kind of like 127 Hours, but funnier.
In any case, Girp’s death is inevitable. If the discombobulated controls don’t kill him, he’ll eventually run out of options — as his arms cramp and tremble, he’ll swan dive into the choppy water below, grateful for a chance to rest.
Or maybe a seagull will simply fly into his face.
My best is 15 meters; Jim Sterling’s is 14; and Nick Chester gave up immediately. GIRP isn’t as hard as QWOP, but it’s a finicky physics-based puzzle game : flexing, swinging, and stretching don’t come naturally for Girp — why he doesn’t use his feet is beyond me — and the mechanics and your keyboard make an uneasy match, at best.
Give it a go and report back.
GIRP [Foddy.net via TIGSource]
(Another Foddy game, Evacuation, is a personal favorite. You can try it out here.)
Published: Mar 28, 2011 12:00 pm