Refunct is a short and sweet, gorgeous looking with
fantastic music, great playing, and perfectly priced indie
first-person-platformer that no one should miss. At just $3 you’re getting a
beautiful experience that you’ll be thinking about long after the roughly
25-minutes it takes to “beat” the first time. It is also fascinating in that it
can be played both lazily and very relaxed, but also frantic and furious to try
to earn some deviously tricky speedrun achievements. I can’t stress it enough –
for just $3 there is no reason not to give Refunct a try. See all of the
details here in our full Xbox One review.Game Details
- Publisher: Dominique Grieshofer
- Developer: Dominique Grieshofer
- ESRB Rating: “E” for Everyone
- Genre: Frist-Person-Platformer
- Pros: Great visuals and music; relaxing mood; smooth gameplay; speedrunning for achievements
- Cons: Very short
- MSRP: $3
Refunct is a simple game that takes place in a beautiful
world of columns that rise out of a body of water. At first the game world is
very small and simple, but as you press a series of buttons scattered around
the area more and more columns rise up and make the world more complex. Your
only objective is to run and jump around in order to activate buttons and
create more land. That’s it. That’s the whole game. And it only takes a few
minutes to do it all and “beat” the game. But it is wonderful.
The gameplay is simple and standard first-person-platforming
that feels better than any $3 game has any right to. You can sprint and jump,
wall jump between walls to reach higher areas, and take advantage of
strategically placed elevator blocks or springs to reach very high places. It
feels great. The controls are responsive. The jumping puzzles are usually
straightforward. It just feels good to play, man.
The accessibility and intuitive design is a big part of
Refunct’s appeal. It isn’t meant to be some hardcore challenge. You are
supposed to take your time and really soak in the pretty graphics and great
music. The world is dynamic, too, so the time of day changes as you play and it
is all just freaking gorgeous. It is a game that is surprisingly relaxing and a
great way to clear your mind.
With that said, Refunct also has a faster and more frantic
way to play, if you so choose. Aside from the buttons you’re required to press
there are also collectible tchotchkes scattered about to find and you also get
an achievement for filling in 100% of the map. There are three far more
challenging achievements, too, that involve beating the game as fast as possible
and as efficiently as possible. Trying to beat the game in less than four
minutes or by only stepping foot on less than 33% of the map will add quite a
bit of playtime to the experience.
Refunct is simple and elegant and beautiful and I can’t recommend
it highly enough. For the $3 asking price you won’t find a more polished and
memorable experience. Buy it.
