Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Refunct Review (XONE)

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.