In Retrospect, by developer/publisher Paper Salamander Games, is a 16-bit action platformer that takes players along a journey of their past life. Normally, I don’t find myself picking up platformers – in fact, I avoid them in favor of MMORPGS or even FPS games (despite my aim being absolutely atrocious). However, In Retrospect definitely left a good impression on me. Although the game is short, it’s very obvious Andrew Nee, its creator, spent a lot of time on its development and music, making the journey enjoyable but bittersweet. So, I’ll be dividing this review into a few categories: story, gameplay, and music.
Story
If I’m being completely honest, I wasn’t expecting much at all from the story. I don’t even know exactly what I was expecting. However, the story certainly did not disappoint me. The addition of collectibles within the game adds to the story as well – like any other popular choice-based title. Depending on what collectibles you “focus” on, dialogue changes, and from what I could take away, what’s added to subsequent levels changes as well. While I liked this aspect of the game, you may be wondering why I put focus in quotes. Not that it’s that big of a problem – especially if you aren’t paying any particular attention – it’s quite hard to change what exactly it is you want to collect. I’ll touch upon that more in the gameplay section.
Another aspect of the game I really enjoyed were the deaths. Now, I may sound crazy, but I think it genuinely adds a lot to the storytelling part of the game, which resembles real life more than I would expect. The game progressively gets harder (just like life), which means that players are more likely to die/restart levels. Anytime you die or restart the level, the text “Is that how it really happened?” appears. At first, I thought it was rather ominous and kind of scary especially since it comes after death and a big red screen. After some thought though, it goes along with the idea that the player is essentially retelling their life story (in retrospect) throughout the entirety of the game. To coincide with that, each life is a “telling,” and while you have unlimited lives, the number of times you retell your story increases with your deaths. It’s a little detail, but it adds to the novelty of the game, making it more enjoyable to play.
Gameplay
As for gameplay, it’s pretty typical for a platforming game with a few unique elements. It can be compared to the popular title Geometry Dash, given that it has many similar mechanics. Just like Geometry Dash, it’s a very hectic platformer. Like once you get past chapter 3, things begin to get rough and confusing. I think that adds to the gameplay though and makes it pretty realistic – life gets very rough and confusing as you grow older. This was my issue, however. As I said, I don’t normally pick up platformers. Heck, the last platformer-esque game I played was Geometry Dash and I couldn’t even make it past the second level on my phone. In Retrospect is not nearly as hard as Geometry Dash, however, the added collectible part to change the story is what makes playing chapters difficult. If you want to get a sense of what each collectible does, you have to really pay attention and be intentional (which I was not). I only managed to ever get wealth, creativity, and love – only 3 out of 6 collectibles – despite trying to see what the different one’s would’ve given me. That being said, it makes the game replayable. And if you’re really not into that stuff, there are challenge stages where you can test your abilities. Although it wasn’t really my thing, it was definitely fun to try out.
Music
The music in this game ties everything together to give it its charm. If you’re familiar with content creators like DashieGames or CoryxKenshin, this game has music they’d definitely jam to or freestyle on, making it all the more fun to play. As you play, you can tell Andrew Nee was very intentional in his selection of music throughout the chapters, and even the levels as the music changes as you progress. It’s kind of like a soundtrack of life, which I really appreciate.
Overview
All in all, I really enjoyed the game. I’d rate it an 8.5/10. If you’ve got a little time on your hands, I’d definitely recommend playing In Retrospect.
In Retrospect is available for PC via Steam. For more information, please visit the official website: https://www.inretrospectgame.com/
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"I've enjoyed gaming since I was little, playing games like Pokémon, Rayman, and Naruto every day. Besides that though, I've always had a love for writing. Now I am combining the two for the best of both worlds! My ultimate goal is to do narrative design for video games."
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