‘LIFTED’ Game Review: Fun Puzzles But Disappointing Platforming
Come along on a journey filled with danger, wonder, and adventure as you travel through time in LIFTED! This is the first game developed and published by Adventure Works, a new studio that was founded by former Disney Imagineer Jeffrey Ashbrook.
Mr. Ashbrook was influenced not only by his imagination but was strongly inspired after speaking to an archeologist while on a trip to Egypt. This is important to note as you’ll be taking on the role of a high school student, Ari Buktu, looking for extra credit as you’ll travel to Egypt and other locales across the world.
Ari gets roped into an adventure by Professor Raventhorpe, his physics teacher, and the professor’s adorable pet chinchilla, Julius. You’ll board the professor’s time travel machine, called the Anytime Elevator, and be whisked off to different time periods in search of lost treasure.
Although this time travel plot comes off as cliché and overdone in places, there is enough charm within the environments, the characters, and the interactions that helped me appreciate some aspects of the game. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same thing about the gameplay. While the core mechanic of platforming is mostly fine, the frequent problems I encountered would stop my momentum and ruin any sort of fun I would be having during some sections.
This is not by any means a terrible game, but there are a fair number of gameplay shortcomings that make LIFTED a difficult game to recommend. In the grand scheme of things, however, there are some well-designed puzzles and fun moments that you’ll stumble upon if you give it a chance.
The world of Adventure Works’ LIFTED
LIFTED is chock-full of little nods to the entire time travel genre. The whole time I was playing the game, every moment was lighthearted and fun. It reminded me less so of Back to the Future, which it clearly took a lot of inspiration from, but more of a Saturday morning cartoon feeling from a bygone era.
Immediately when you start playing, it’s obvious what sort of characters Ari and Professor Raventhorpe are. Ari is a wide-eyed teenager who would do almost anything to get extra credit in his physics class. Meanwhile, the professor is determined to retrieve the tiara of Queen Nefertari, no matter how much danger he risks putting his brave student in.
Throughout the entire escapade, the team will travel to various parts of the world. The harsh desert of Egypt, the tropics of the Caribbean, a snow-covered castle, and several other regions have been meticulously crafted here. Ari will be able to leap between platforms, climb past various hazards, and have plenty of puzzles that will need solving along the way.
Does Adventure Works do enough with LIFTED to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their peers? In the current landscape of gaming, where other platformers of this theme and scope are constantly being released, this game’s only strong points are in its character work, script, and puzzle design.
Fun with puzzles and platforming woes
I am the first person in the room to admit when their skills are inadequate for difficult puzzle-platforming, but I did not encounter that in LIFTED. Platforming in gaming is sometimes difficult to gauge evenly because what might seem easy to me may be considered rough and treacherous to other players. So when the game prompted me to choose between playing either Easy or Classic, I weighed the two options on their advantages and disadvantages.
I ultimately selected the Classic mode, and while it did say that the platforming sections would require more precise timing, I am glad I went with this choice. I experienced a few issues playing this game. Sure, I might have gotten stumped once or twice on some puzzles, but overall this game was a breeze. I was able to complete LIFTED in under three hours, and honestly, that’s a little disappointing.
Regrettably, there were two specific instances that stood out to me that made this an arduous experience. The first issue was a recurring one when trying to swing on ropes and branches. Most times that I tried to latch onto an object to swing from, Ari would simply let go. I would try everything I could think of to prevent this.
The other issue was during an escape sequence that happens at a story juncture. One enemy would throw spears, and no matter how fast I would run, I would get hit by the spear when attempting to leap out of its way and grab a vine. To fix this, I would have to quit out to the menu and continue to reposition the enemy. This required multiple attempts, and I ended up wasting 20 minutes of my time on this one issue.
Luckily, the puzzles in LIFTED are designed in a way to gradually ramp up the difficulty curve. There was not a single example I can think of where I went, “I am stumped,” and I would feel like I could progress no more.
Some puzzles were positive standouts to me, especially when you get towards the end of the game. There are a series of mirrors that must be adjusted to reflect light, each becoming more complex than the previous ones. These puzzles are by no means groundbreaking, but I found them entertaining enough, and I am glad for their inclusion. My only critique of these final puzzles is that the game gave me a taste for something more sophisticated and completely outshines the puzzles that came before.
As you make your way through ancient ruins, trek through jungles, and avoid all sorts of dangers, you’ll start to come across collectables. Most of these are cleverly hidden and can be missable if you do not keep a keen eye out for them.
If you collect an entire set, you will unlock a unique costume, usually themed to the level you’re on, and as I only unlocked four in total, this encourages replayability. If you decide to attempt to gather any missing pieces of a costume you want to obtain, or you are a completionist, you can access any chapter you’ve already played through from the main menu. I am happy that this inclusion of a chapter select is in the game, as it reduces any frustration of having to replay the entire game from the beginning.
Final thoughts on LIFTED
In its current state, filled with simple platforming and frequent issues that I experienced, I cannot recommend this game. The puzzle designs, while fun towards the end, really aren’t much to write home about. However, and this is a big exception, I could forgive those problems simply for the wonderful writing, even though the overall plot is generic. But if you’ve seen one time travel plot, you’ve probably seen them all. But don’t discount the wonderful art style and design of every character in this game.
Someday I may revisit LIFTED and try to grind out the rest of the collectables I missed during my playtime, but I can’t see myself doing that any time soon. I don’t like coming off this harsh to a game from a first-time development studio, especially with a well-earned attempt such as this one. I do respect what they have attempted here with the parts I enjoyed; I just wish the trouble I experienced wasn’t such a headache. I wish Adventure Works well in their next endeavor, whether that takes the form of another game or not.
LIFTED is currently available for purchase on PC through Steam, with Playstation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 versions planned.
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