The Floor Is Jelly: Bouncing in Fun
The Floor Is Jelly places the player in a beautiful world composed entirely of—you guessed it—jelly. This translates to gameplay in a variety of ways, but most notably the player gains momentum by bouncing off the gelatinous ground and walls.
While this sounds like a fantastic set-up for an intense platformer, developer Ian Snyder shies away from that approach. Instead, the majority of The Floor Is Jelly involves loose experimentation in order to solve puzzles. Although there are a few difficult platforming sequences—especially as the story progresses towards its conclusion—this game focuses more on experimentation than frustration. This style of gameplay works well—instead of appearing as yet another Super Meat Boy clone, The Floor Is Jelly establishes an identity in a crowded 2D platformer market.
The relaxing, relatively easy gameplay meshes perfectly with the game's art and music. The minimalist world pulses with energy, and the soft soundtrack (produced by Disasterpeace) fits the art style perfectly. I would go so far as to say the simple beauty of The Floor Is Jelly turns playing these levels into a mild stress relief.
That said, this is not a game without flaws. Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of The Floor Is Jelly lies in the game's complete lack of story. I love plots hidden in abstractions, but Snyder's game doesn't even go so far as to announce itself as a generic love story. Instead, the player is left with bright colors and the wanderings of an odd shape. My other two complaints warrant less attention, but I still wish they had been addressed: first of all, The Floor Is Jelly does not offer controller support. The arrow keys work well enough, but I greatly prefer using my Xbox controller. Secondly, the ten dollar price tag may be seen as too high for a game that takes between two to four hours to beat.
Other than the lack of story—my only serious concern with this game—there isn't much to critique about The Floor Is Jelly. Ian Snyder took a common concept and transformed it into a standalone game. The excellent design, combined with the incredible art and music, turn this into a game worth checking out.
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+Interesting mechanic
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While this sounds like a fantastic set-up for an intense platformer, developer Ian Snyder shies away from that approach. Instead, the majority of The Floor Is Jelly involves loose experimentation in order to solve puzzles. Although there are a few difficult platforming sequences—especially as the story progresses towards its conclusion—this game focuses more on experimentation than frustration. This style of gameplay works well—instead of appearing as yet another Super Meat Boy clone, The Floor Is Jelly establishes an identity in a crowded 2D platformer market.
One of the songs from the game.
That said, this is not a game without flaws. Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of The Floor Is Jelly lies in the game's complete lack of story. I love plots hidden in abstractions, but Snyder's game doesn't even go so far as to announce itself as a generic love story. Instead, the player is left with bright colors and the wanderings of an odd shape. My other two complaints warrant less attention, but I still wish they had been addressed: first of all, The Floor Is Jelly does not offer controller support. The arrow keys work well enough, but I greatly prefer using my Xbox controller. Secondly, the ten dollar price tag may be seen as too high for a game that takes between two to four hours to beat.
Other than the lack of story—my only serious concern with this game—there isn't much to critique about The Floor Is Jelly. Ian Snyder took a common concept and transformed it into a standalone game. The excellent design, combined with the incredible art and music, turn this into a game worth checking out.
GREAT
+Good gameplay+Interesting mechanic
+Beautiful art and music
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-No story
-High price tag for a short game
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