Don't Look Back (video game)
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''Don't Look Back'' is a
platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
playable through
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and designed by Terry Cavanagh. The game is a modern interpretation of the
Greek legend A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
of
Orpheus and Eurydice The ancient legend of Orpheus and Eurydice (, ''Orpheus, Eurydikē'') concerns the fateful love of Orpheus of Thrace for the beautiful Eurydice. Orpheus was the son of Apollo and the muse Calliope. It may be a late addition to the Orpheus myths ...
. The game is a combination of two ideas: Cavanagh wished to create a "silly shooter" where the player's actions were "redeemed" after being shown from a different perspective, and he also wished to create a game where the gameplay acted as a metaphor for the player's actions. Critics praised the game's addictiveness and presentation, but had different opinions over its high difficulty level.


Gameplay

The game is an interpretation of the Orpheus and Eurydice legend with stylized graphics resembling those produced by the
Atari 2600 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocessor- ...
game console. Players control a man who begins the game standing at the grave of his lover. After finding a handgun, he descends into the underworld to find the spirit of the deceased and lead her back out to safety. Players have infinite chances to repeat each of the game's screens; the screen must be replayed if the player makes contact with an enemy or hazard, and also if the player turns the man to face his lover once she has been rescued. Play consists of crossing lava pits by jumping across platforms, circumnavigating other hazards, fending off enemies such as spiders and bats, and defeating bosses. After safely leading the spirit out of the underworld, the player reaches the gravestone where the game started, to encounter the man still stood at the grave. Both the player character and the spirit disappear, leaving the other figure standing alone at the grave. The journey is a fantasy; once completed the player is confronted by the reality of the figure silently grieving.


Development

''Don't Look Back'' is a combination of two separate ideas, one of which was what Cavanagh termed as "a silly shooter or something like that", which would be "redeem(ed)" by a twist which would show the player's actions in a different light. The other idea was creating a game where the gameplay itself was "a metaphor for something else that's happening to the player".


Reception

The iOS port had initially been rejected by Apple due to its marketing material stating that "''There are no in-app purchases or any of that nonsense''". Journalists praised ''Don't Look Back'' overall, in particular its presentation. Jim Rossignol of
Rock, Paper, Shotgun ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' (also rendered ''Rock, Paper, Shotgun''; short ''RPS'') is a UK-based website for reporting on video games, primarily for PC. Originally launched on 13 July 2007 as an independent site, ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' was acquir ...
described ''Don't Look Back'' as "simplistic, but very tricky", adding "It’s really well done". Indie game developer
Derek Yu Derek Yu is an American independent video game designer, video game artist, and blogger.Seiklus ''Seiklus'' (Estonian for ) is a platform game for Microsoft Windows. It was created by cly5m, using GameMaker over a period of approximately 6 months. Overview ''Seiklus'' is a puzzle platform game made with GameMaker with an emphasis on explo ...
'' but "more focused and challenging", and that it is rewarding to play for fans of the genre. Tim Rose of IndieGames.com said the game is "simply quite brilliant" and "great platforming fun that deserves to be played". Madeline Blondeau of '' Paste'' magazine complimented the game's minimalist aesthetic, stating that it allowed for open interpretation that invoked personal feeling in players. The staff of online video game magazine '' The Escapist'' found the game addictive, "a perfect example of doing more with less", and stated it possesses a "wonderfully haunting aesthetic". In a positive examination of ''Don't Look Back'', game designer
Emily Short Emily Short is an interactive fiction (IF) writer. She is perhaps best known for her debut game ''Galatea'' and her use of psychologically complex non-player characters (NPCs). Short has been called "a visionary in the world of text-based game ...
(writing for
Gamasutra ''Game Developer'', known as ''Gamasutra'' until 2021, is a website founded in 1997 that focuses on aspects of video game development. It is owned and operated by Informa and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine '' Gam ...
) described the game as "not a masterpiece", but she noted that it illustrates "the methods by which a masterpiece will one day be written." She also pointed to the fact that the difficulty of the game elevated it in a way that was impossible for traditional accounts of the Orpheus myth (opera, sculpture, painting, and literature). Through the struggle the player identifies with Orpheus on a much deeper level. Short, Emily.
Analysis: Don't Look Back - Cavanagh's Alternate Game Viewpoints
'.
Gamasutra ''Game Developer'', known as ''Gamasutra'' until 2021, is a website founded in 1997 that focuses on aspects of video game development. It is owned and operated by Informa and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine '' Gam ...
. 21 July 2009.
Blondeau offered a similar viewpoint about the difficulty adding to the game's experience, claiming that the mechanic of traversing through the underworld backwards represented a
diegesis Diegesis (; from the Ancient Greek, Greek from , "to narrate") is a style of fictional, fiction storytelling that presents an interior view of a world in which: # Details about the world itself and the experiences of its characters are reveale ...
in its gameplay. She also averred that through its interweaving of gameplay and narrative, the game exalted to a "cogent and meditative reflection on love, loss, and the agonizing liminal space between both". The game was included on game journalist Michael Rose's 2014 book ''250 Indie Games You Must Play'', and has been credited with bringing Cavanagh into mainstream recognition.


References


External links


''Don't Look Back''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Don't Look Back (Video Game) 2009 video games Android (operating system) games Art games Browser games Flash games IOS games Ouya games Freeware games Works about Orpheus Platformers Video games developed in Ireland Video games set in antiquity Video games based on Greek mythology