A Difficult Game About Climbing is a physics-based climbing game inspired by Getting Over It. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth your time and money.
A Difficult Game About Climbing Review Overview
What is A Difficult Game About Climbing?
A Difficult Game About Climbing(ADGAC) is primarily inspired by Bennett Foddy’s Getting Over It, a difficult physics-based game where you use a hammer to, with falling possibly setting you back to where you started. Instead of a hammer, ADGAC lets you take control of both your character’s hands, allowing you to reach out to grab something and pull up your body.
A Difficult Game About Climbing features:
⚫︎ Simple controls, difficult levels
⚫︎ Punishing physics-based gameplay
⚫︎ Moments that will probably ruin your day
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about A Difficult Game About Climbing's gameplay and story.
 Steam | $9.99 |
A Difficult Game About Climbing Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
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Smart and Simple Controls A Difficult Game About Climbing Overall Score - 70/100
The game is exactly what it’s advertised as. It’s easy to learn with its simple controls but it’s definitely not easy to progress through or finish. It’s extremely tough, but not impossible, making it one of those games where you’d wanna keep trying to progress until you’re completely outraged. The game succeeds in its mission of providing its players with a difficult gaming experience about climbing.
A Difficult Game About Climbing Story - 7/10
There’s no real story in this game. You’re just some half-naked bald dude trying to climb as high as you can. Games like these don’t really need a story since their focus is solely on gameplay.
A Difficult Game About Climbing Gameplay - 8/10
The game, as the title suggests, really is difficult and is definitely about climbing. The controls are simple and very easy to learn. However, the gameplay is very challenging by design, and it’s one of the games where you’d undoubtedly grow frustrated. Level design is very challenging, but not impossible. Because of its difficulty, you’ll feel surreal just by getting through that one area you’ve been trying to clear for hours.
A Difficult Game About Climbing Visuals - 7/10
ADGAC’s visuals are simple but not by any means ugly. The levels, although somewhat random, are well-designed. There’s also a variety in the game’s map designs, with you starting off climbing what appears to be limestone rock formations over a body of water, to eventually progressing into areas with a waterfall, or more urban areas. That is if you get to them.
A Difficult Game About Climbing Audio - 6/10
ADGAC only has sound effects and no music or soundtrack. While this is a dealbreaker for some, I didn’t really mind and thought it works for a game like this. After a few hours and a lot of built-up frustration, I got annoyed with the sound of the waves down below (since I kept falling) so I completely turned the sound off and played my own Spotify playlist instead.
A Difficult Game About Climbing Value for Money - 7/10
ADGAC is only $9.99, making it really affordable. It’s really fun, but will definitely make you rage quit at some point, possibly to the degree where you’ll never touch the game again. If you like simple but tough puzzle/platform games then this is well worth your money. If not, look elsewhere.
Game8's Review Policy and Scoring System
A Difficult Game About Climbing Review | It Wasn't Lying
A Difficult Game About Climbing is exactly what it sounds like. You take control of this half-naked bald man’s two hands, which you’ll control with your mouse. Moving your mouse will control your character’s arms, and clicking the left and right mouse buttons will cause your character to grip with their respective hands. At first I thought the game was exhausting and physically demanding, but that was because I didn’t know that you could push the space bar or W key to climb. The climb button isn’t required to play the game effectively as you could always just drag your mouse, but it definitely reduces the risk of arm fatigue when playing.
You start off in the water, and you’ll climb your way through the rock formations above. You’ll have to carefully choose where you’ll place your grip, as a lot of the surfaces won’t do a good job of carrying your full weight. Go for dry and strong surfaces while avoiding wet, slippery, smooth, or unstable surfaces. It starts off pretty easy, but along the way you’ll encounter more difficult areas where you’ll probably fail more than a couple of times.
Falling in this game is extremely punishing, especially if you’ve progressed far above sea level already. When you do, you’d often fall to the body of water below you, forcing you to re-climb whatever obstacles you’ve gotten through until you get to where you fell. If you’ve managed to get quite far, you’ll encounter another body of water high up, which serves as a checkpoint. You could fall on these instead of going back to square one, but these don’t span the entire map, and you could still fall to where you first started way below. This happened to me after several hours and that’s when I called it a day and closed the game.
It should be noted that clicking won’t guarantee your safety. If you move around or twist too much when latched, you’ll lose your grip. It’s also hard to get a grip when moving too fast, which is usually the case when you’re falling and desperately trying to grab ahold of something so you wouldn’t have to redo everything you’ve worked so hard for.
The game’s difficulty is indeed very tough, but not impossible. You’re likely to get mad while playing it, which will cause you to rush back to where you started and fall because you got careless. I found it very helpful to take a 5-minute break every now and then to keep a good headspace while playing the game. Since it doesn’t have a soundtrack, I started playing my own music and turning down the game’s sound effects. This helped me get into a positive headspace and actually helped get me past the jump I kept failing at.
Overall, ADGAC is exactly what you and I expect it to be, based on the title and promotional content. It’s fun, challenging, rewarding, and infuriating all at the same time.
Pros of A Difficult Game About Climbing
| Things A Difficult Game About Climbing Got Right |
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Smart and Simple Controls
Just like in Getting Over It, the controls of this game are very simple and easy to grasp. There aren’t any complex mechanics, complicated combos, or an overwhelming amount of buttons to press. This is a game that anybody can play due to how simple it is, be it a 7-year-old or your grandpa. I wouldn’t recommend this to the latter though as they might suffer from anger-related complications.
Challenging But Not Impossible
It’s really tough, but this is by design and it just works for this game. Despite its difficulty, it’s not at all impossible. Since this is the case, it feels very very rewarding getting through the obstacle you spent hours trying to get through. I’m not a very vocal person when I play single-player games, but the difficulty had me audibly complaining to myself, and progressing beyond where I was stuck had me vocally celebrating alone.
Cons of A Difficult Game About Climbing
| Things That A Difficult Game About Climbing Can Improve |
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Will Probably Make You Rage Quit
This game is bound to infuriate you, especially when you keep falling on the same part repeatedly, or if you’ve already cleared a level and you fall to where you first started the first level. This isn’t a game where you should stay in that angry headspace though, as you’re very likely to make careless mistakes trying to rush back to where you were before you fell. A tip I found to be helpful was to listen to my own music and to take short breaks when I’ve grown frustrated.
Is A Difficult Game About Climbing Worth It?
If You Think You Can Handle It
The game will get on your nerves, which will probably illicit two reactions from you. You’ll either feel determined to try again and conquer the challenge, or you’ll rage quit and never touch the game again. If you think you’re prone to the latter, then avoid this game. If not, I think you got yourself a good deal for $9.99. You’ll get exactly what you expect– A Difficult Game About Climbing.
A Difficult Game About Climbing Release Date and Preorder Info
A Difficult Game About Climbing FAQ
Will you always start from the beginning?
There will be other bodies of water to fall on if you’ve progressed far enough. However, you could still miss these and fall to where you first started.
Is A Difficult Game About Climbing the sequel to Getting Over It?
No, the game is inspired by Getting Over It, but was made by a different developer.
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A Difficult Game About Climbing Product Information
 | |
| Title | A DIFFICULT GAME ABOUT CLIMBING |
|---|---|
| Release Date | March 6, 2024 |
| Developer | Pontypants |
| Publisher | Pontypants |
| Supported Platforms | PC(Steam) |
| Genre | Puzzle, Simulation, Physics |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| Rating | N/A |
| Official Website | Pontypants Official Itch.io |
