von If you have ever wondered what it would be like to bounce around the inside of a computer world, Bit ESC is here to give you a fun little fantastical answer to that. Bit ESC is a platformer where you play a little bit square who escapes the confines of their work in their file to explore the rest of the world within the computer. And this world, from the music to the sound effects and then overall artwork and style, is a joy to be in.
Outside of the aesthetics, Bit ESC is a platformer, which means you will be doing a lot of running a jumping. While there are some odd out of the way obstacles like enemies and sawblades that don’t quite match the aesthetic, it overall does a really good job integrating the feel of being inside a PC. You’ll jump off files, teleport between folders, and scale text conversations as you make your way from Point A to Point B.
I admit, platformers are generally not a genre I particularly enjoy nor am good at. However, I enjoyed my brief time with Bit ESC as its visually enjoyable and the gameplay mechanics are welcoming due to the simplicity and relative ease at which the platforming appears. With only a run, jump, dash and wall bounce, its easy to quickly get a handle on what the game expects and how to get to where you need to go. The hazards are, at least during the demo, less and easier to maneuver around and there were only a few enemies which were pretty simple to avoid. While death is a one hit kill, the respawns are fast and generally checkpoints are near so you never feel unfairly punished by death.
There are some difficult areas though. These tend to be more out of the way and for what I can only assume are collectibles. From at least the demo these required precise platforming and utilizing all of the abilities to make it through unscathed. However, for completionists who may lack the time or patience to get through these areas and want to avoid the frustration, there are assists which consist of being able to jump in the air to help with the platforming as well as to become invincible
If cute aesthetics and simple but fun gameplay is something you are interested in then Bit ESC should be a game to keep an eye out for. While it is hard to tell how much the demo cuts to get right to the action (something they make clear with a cheeky bit of dialog from the designer’s character in the game) and if the game will add more to do, but for the short time I played I was definitely sold on the look and feel of the game and definitely would be interested in playing more.
Demo Deep Dive is a series looking at upcoming games via available demos to be able to give an impression on everything from the aesthetics to the sounds to, most importantly, how they play. Hopefully you find this series enjoyable, informative, and ultimately helpful both to inform you of games while also promoting games that you may otherwise not have heard of.
This demo for Bit ESC. is available until September 30th via the ID@Xbox Xbox
Image: https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-microsoft-xbox-game-controller-1298601/
