If you like portal-likes and can tolerate some jank and a lot of programmer art, this is an interesting and mostly-enjoyable game. I have two primary issues that made me annoyed: [olist] [*]Each room uses a single material for nearly all surfaces. This, combined with the lack of any significant lighting, means that there are very few visual queues as to position and orientation. Two rooms are particularly bad. One is a very dark sphere that can be seen in one of the store screenshots, while the other is a rats nest of cubic pipes that introduces a new mechanic/control. [*]I spent quite a while wandering that rats nest before poking through the controls menu to discover that mechanic. If there was a prompt for it, I missed it. [/olist]
Down is Relative
- Release Date:
- May 17, 2024
- Developer:
- Bret Swearengen
- Publisher:
- Bret Swearengen
- Platforms:
- Windows
Game Tags
About This Game
You have found yourself with the space bending ability to generate your own gravitational field that always points down relative to where you are looking. Mastering this concept is key to avoid displeasing your overseers. While becoming accustomed to these perplexing abilities, you will be run through a multitude of tests and puzzles to challenge your aptitude with them. If you manage to provide them with good test results, then they just might include water in this week's rations.
Contained within this package is a around an hour of fun, tense, and satisfying puzzles and challenges, involving a full 20 puzzle rooms all weaved into a larger overarching story. Each puzzle introduces a new way to think about and overcome combinations of over a dozen unique puzzle elements. If you are looking for a physics playground with complex puzzles and a fascinating new concept to wrap your head around, then you will most definitely enjoy your time playing DIR!
Screenshots
User Reviews
awful ground movement. cool concept. PLEASE fix the movement
Solid Puzzle Game rooms 17-20 may be a bit tricky.
The game fully justifies its price. The idea is curious and interesting, but realization is quite awful, sorry for that. Frustrating controls, awkward sound design, lack of any stylization... BUT The concept and the fact that this is a complete and beatable game that everyone can handle makes me confident that it wasn't meaningless, I'm waiting for more games from this developer. Though the game is an hour long I implore you not to refund.
Stuck on one of the rooms at the moment (I'm sure I'll figure it out in time; not like there's much if any *gravity* to the priority thereof). That said, so far, this is an amusing, low cost game, with an impressively small file size and light weight system resource usage. The rooms flow seamlessly (no loading screens between). The controls can feel a bit tricky at first (I haven't tried controller yet, just keyboard and mouse so far. Although I do have the former; I'm just admittedly too lazy to plug it in right now. Oddly, however, not too lazy to type out this review). The voice of the character on the PA system has wit and humour that is as sharp as a fine 2 to 3 year old cheddar (and I *love* old cheddar. Dutch, Irish, Welsh... I'll stop before I trail off). The puzzles can sometimes *seem* daunting *at first*, but with some patience, and critical and relative thinking, one can figure them out well simply enough. I can definitely see and feel some "Portal" elements in this game, ...
I understand the unsatisfactory reviews but i think this is a good game to pass an hour or two. I liked most of the ideas, although some puzzles and mechanics are not great. The gravity mechanics are incredebly well designed, but the controls are not confortable. Oh, and the popup sistem for the controls and voice lines is completely broken.
the concept is good but the execution is a bit clunky, but its still a good game
Finished 12 out of 18 Stages. Game is janky trash. Controls are horrible and naration tries to be sarcastic/funny like Portal but he doesn't know what acting is. Whatever i tried to do here, it wasn't worth it for sure.
Its a good game to waste like an hour or two, but it still has a lot of bugs and the UI isn't the most user friendly. The concept is fun, and the puzzles are challenging + i tested it out and it works just fine on the steam deck.
System Requirements
Minimum
- OS *: Windows 7+
- Processor: Intel Core i5
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000
- Storage: 1 GB available space
- Sound Card: Any functional card should suffice
FAQ
How much does Down is Relative cost?
Down is Relative costs $0.99.
What are the system requirements for Down is Relative?
Minimum: Minimum: OS *: Windows 7+ Processor: Intel Core i5 Memory: 2 GB RAM Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000 Storage: 1 GB available space Sound Card: Any functional card should suffice
What platforms is Down is Relative available on?
Down is Relative is available on Windows PC.
Is Down is Relative worth buying?
Down is Relative has 70% positive reviews from 10 players.
When was Down is Relative released?
Down is Relative was released on May 17, 2024.
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