In Retrospect | PC Review

I often enjoy games that make think more than they are fun to play. Such is the case with In Retrospect from developer Paper Salamander. I’ll be the first to admit that runners aren’t a favorite genre of games for me. But this one does something I haven’t seen any other do. It has something to say. It may be a shorter experience, but it left me pondering much more than I expected.

Life Moves Pretty Fast

In Retrospect is a 2D runner. For those unfamiliar with this style of game, imagine a Mario-esque platformer where you have no control of the characters left or right movement. Your character auto-runs from left to right, and all you have to worry about is jumping to avoid obstacles. Sounds simple enough, right? At the beginning, that’s definitely the case, but the game flips the script in later levels. Your perspective changes quite frequently. Some areas you may be falling straight down. Others might tilt the world in strange directions forcing you to reorient your direction on the fly. It makes for an interesting challenge that can be mastered with old-school memorization.

Where this title stands apart, however, is in its collectibles. Most runners have you grabbing some sort of coins along the way. The currency here instead consists of bubbles with one of six different icons inside. You learn very early on that these icons represent wealth, money, education, creativity, spirituality, or love. The icon of which you acquire the most by the end of the level determines what happens during the moments between the next stage. For instance, I coincidentally wound up collecting “education” on most of my runs. The game provided me hints about how to traverse the next stage before starting it. If you happen to collect mostly wealth, you’ll be given the options to purchase items before starting again.

What makes this so interesting is the random nature of collecting. Try as you might to collect a certain type of bubble, it’s very difficult as they are bouncing all over the screen in a chaotic manner. This actually plays into the story in a way I’ll discuss momentarily. Keep in mind, this doesn’t make the game harder to complete. It’s beautiful chaos that adds a clever, albeit out-of-your-control mechanic.

You Could Miss It

The story begins with your character standing in the clouds speaking to a character named Dee, who is helping you relive the memories of your life. I’m unsure if this was meant to be therapy or purgatory, but that doesn’t seem to matter. Dee asks you about the details of your life before you enter each of the ten stages. Every one represents a decade segment of your time on the planet. For instance, the first level focuses on your early childhood with background images reminiscent of youth. The next, your teen years, and so on.

Earlier I spoke about the chaotic nature of picking up collectibles. This is meant to portray just how crazy life can get, especially as you get older. Things get stressful, just like in the real world, and everyone’s experiences may differ from each other. In one section, I swam through the belly of a whale; in another, I was jumping through the sky on the top of jet planes. There’s even a disembodied head of what appears to be a vampire.

Does it make logical sense? Probably not. But that’s not the point. In Retrospect acts as more of a metaphor for this crazy thing called life. Even the game’s short length reminds us of just how fleeting the years become. While there’s no mind-blowing revelation in terms of its plot, this seemingly simple platformer attempts to mirror your characters slice of life. Your mileage may vary on its impact, however.

In Retrospect Final Verdict

This game is the very definition of a one-and-done experience for me. It takes an interesting look at why we’re here as you take a look back on your character’s life events. Personally, I felt no pull to go back to the well. There are extra stages that unlock after you finish the game, and you can challenge your friends for high scores on a leaderboard. But I didn’t bother. I was more interested to see how my story played out. To be completely honest, I don’t even know if different choices affected the narrative. I felt satisfied with my story, even if there were other alternate outcomes.

If you’re looking for a unique experience, you can’t beat the price of admission here. In Retrospect offers an interesting direction from your typical runner, and I applaud the developer for their labor of love. I just feel satisfied with my single playthrough, which could be completed in one sitting. If your curiosity is piqued, you might want to check it out for yourself. Who knows? Maybe this pixelated, whimsical ride will impact you even more than it did me.

To hear me talk more about In Retrospect, be sure to check out Episode 414 of The Gaming Outsider Podcast around the 1:04:03 time stamp.

This review is based on a PC copy of In Retrospect provided by Paper Salamander for coverage purposes. It is also available on Itch.io.