Seiklus

5 Beautiful.
This has been my favorite freeware game ever since I played it. It’s truly an amazing piece of work, though it’s not your typical platform game. There is no way to die, and the gameplay mostly consists of jumping around and solving the occasional puzzle. It’s not really all that difficult, generally speaking; hence, I find it very relaxing to play. The graphics are also beautiful – simple, yet beautiful, despite (or perhaps because of) their simplicity – and the music, while not created by tapeworm, is lovely. This game actually sparked my interest in chiptunes. And the storyline, such as it is, I find rather touching – again, mainly through its minimalism. There is no dialogue. A guy gets separated from his girlfriend/wife/sister by a meteor, and seeks to reunite with her. That’s all there is to it, yet it doesn’t seem silly – perhaps because it’s achieved through only two tiny cutscenes.

It’s pretty much the first game of its type, too (although it’s been imitated countless times since its creation, by myself and others), which makes me admire it even more. And I think it captures better than pretty much all other games like it the beauty of minimalism. The environments in the game never cease to inspire me. They are varied and intensely atmospheric. You should experience them for yourself.

Shortly put, it’s a classic. In a world where games are frequently forgotten within a few months, it’s lasted years, and I think and hope that it will last for years more to come.