2.5D indie platformer Lifted is Indiana Jones meets Back to the Future
Featuring a zany professor who’s created a time travelling device that looks like a lift and an adventurous slacker who’s eager for extra credit, 2.5D indie platformer Lifted feels a lot like Indiana Jones meets Back to the Future. I’m sure you’ll agree that’s no bad thing. There’s a hint of Star Wars here, too, thanks to Professor Raventhorpe’s pet Chinchilla providing some light relief. And with its characters having floating limbs, it seems like Ubisoft’s Rayman has also been a bit of an inspiration.
The first game from Adventure Works, Lifted might start to make more sense when you learn that the studio’s founder, Jeffrey Ashbrook, is a former Disney Imagineer. And while there are some aspects here that are less than stellar, it’s a solid debut that will provide hours of enjoyable platforming entertainment, and perhaps raise a smile or two along the way.
Ari is your playable protagonist in Lifted, convinced by Professor Raventhorpe to give his new time-travelling machine a try. And the reason why Professor Raventhorpe wants to go back to key points in history soon becomes clear: he wishes to impress a history teacher who he’s grown rather fond of. Ultimately, you’ll be visiting multiple periods in time, eager to get your hands on a fabled tiara. But there’s someone else after the treasure, too.
Being a 2.5D platformer, the worlds and characters of Lifted are created in 3D, with the camera moving around in a dynamic manner while you play. You’ll be simply moving left or right, however, swinging on ropes to cover large gaps and jumping to negotiate platforms. There’s a bit of Uncharted-style climbing, too, though here you’re rewarded by tapping the direction you wish to move in as a spark appears, allowing you to climb faster.
More abilities are opened up as you progress, too, including being able to use a grappling hook to swing and climb to otherwise inaccessible areas, and performing a dodge roll to avoid incoming projectiles and move through small gaps. Your moveset isn’t exactly vast, then, but you have all the tools you need to get the job done and keep things interesting. You’re not just running and jumping here, either; there are also plenty of puzzles to be overcome, many of which require you to move boxes or pull switches.
It all makes for a well-paced adventure which does a good of keeping you on your toes. But as charming as it is, there’s nothing here gameplay-wise that’s out of the ordinary. Instead, it’s the exchanges between Ari and Professor Raventhorpe, along with his pet Chinchilla, that make Lifted stand out. While the dialogue can be a bit groan-worthy at times, it’s mostly amusing.
Aside from it not being anything special on the gameplay front, there’s also the fact that Lifted occasionally feels a bit scrappy. The camera doesn’t always give you the best view of the action, for example, and the animations of some of your actions feel a little… unfinished. But this is an indie effort, after all, and a debut at that. So: if you’re after a 2.5D platformer very much inspired by 80s pop culture that carefully balances simple platforming with old-fashioned box and lever puzzles, Lifted is definitely worth giving a try.
Lifted is available on PC.
