Playing around with gravity in platformers isn’t anything new; Super Mario Galaxy is a prime example of the concept done right, but Limbo also performed a commendable job during the latter stages of its short campaign. Being able to manipulate gravity throughout an entire game, though? That’s a pretty new one (shush, Gravity Rush and VVVVVV fans), but if our hands-on time with the demo for Reggie: The Game is anything to go by, then we’re in for a treat when it eventually launches in 2025.
To use its full name, Reggie, His Cousin, Two Scientists and Most Likely the End of the World is a 2D platformer from Dutch developer Degoma in which you navigate stages by flipping the world’s gravity, effectively allowing you to zip to the ceiling and back down again, or even zig-zag in mid-air, bopping enemies on the head (or their backsides) as you go. It’s pretty similar to VVVVVV in some respects, but the ability to flip the gravity while mid-air and utilise physics to manipulate your momentum sets this one apart quite nicely.
We recently sat down to briefly speak with siblings Gloria and Frank Garcia, the founders of Degoma, and try out four of the game’s 25 levels via an early PC build. Despite only sampling a small chunk of the full game, we came away feeling pretty excited and optimistic about Reggie, though we also have a couple of niggling concerns that we hope get nipped in the bud before its full launch in 2025.
The first thing we noticed is its utterly charming presentation. The visuals are reminiscent of modern cartoons like Adventure Time, and this is bolstered by the catchy, uplifting soundtrack. We did notice a bit of inconsistency with the quality of the music from one level to the next, though we suspect this might not be representative of the final product. Additionally, we were instantly enamoured with Reggie himself; simple in design yet bursting with personality, we suspect he’ll go on to have a long life after this first title.
It’s also surprisingly cinematic at times. For the most part, the environments and backgrounds are largely static, but the second demo level showcased a huge, red vortex sucking up rocks and trees while warping the background. It’s trippy yet grand all at once, and we can’t wait to see what else Degoma has up its sleeves for the full game.
As for the gameplay, the gravity feature feels intuitive enough that anybody can easily get to grips with it, yet there’s potential for you to move through the levels at remarkable speeds once you get used to how the physics works. There’s no limit to how often you can flip the gravity, but if you’re using it to effectively float in the air, your momentum will gradually slow down until you can no longer move forward. It’s great for covering larger distances, then, but you’ll have to be careful not to lose momentum when there are no platforms either above or below you.
It’s surprisingly challenging, particularly during the later stages. By default, you have three ‘leaves’ which represent the number of times you can take damage before dying. Enemies are plentiful, so you need to be careful about where you land, but there’s also ample opportunity to go flying off the map itself. What’s great, though, is that there are humourous, bespoke death animations depending on how you perish, so we found ourselves purposefully getting hit just to see how Reggie would croak it.
Our main concern at this stage is the lack of variety. The levels are visually unique enough, but we’re worried that without interesting puzzles to solve along the way, the game could amount to little more than a souped-up version of Flappy Bird. The visuals and unique charm did enough to keep us more than entertained for the duration of the demo, but we hope there’s a bit more to it with the final game. Thankfully, those who like to play co-op will be pleased that an additional player can join in as Reggie’s cousin, which should add spice to the regular gameplay.
As for the ludicrous game title? Gloria Garcia says that Degoma’s hope is that the game is successful enough to spawn a sequel. As such, since the first game’s title essentially tells a story, a potential follow-up would spin on this with its own unique name. Makes sense to us; here’s hoping Reggie, His Cousin, Two Scientists and Likely the End of the World winds up being a success – if only to hear what the next one’s going to be called.
Our thanks to Gloria and Frank, and to Kit and Krysta at Never A Minute for setting this up.
Reggie, His Cousin, Two Scientists and Most Likely the End of the World is aiming to launch on Switch in 2025. Have you got Reggie on your Switch wishlist? What do make of the gravity-defying gameplay? Leave a comment with your thoughts down below.
