The Summit is an incredibly accurate Playdate platform that will touch you directly

I didn’t expect to cry while playing a $6 Playdate climbing platform that’s impossible to beat . Scream in frustration? Yes. Log away from the game only to crawl back in minutes later? Definitely. Wake up all in my feelings, but? Not so much. Yet an hour and 34 minutes – and 432 deaths – later, here we are. It’s the second time now.

In The conferenceyou are a clothed climber trying to reach the top of a mountain under the guidance of an invisible narrator who refers to you as “little brother.” You have ice axes to help you scale specific areas, and other tools will appear later to help you in difficult situations. Completing the 70 levels requires absolute precision, and sometimes more, a lot frustrating. There are rows of sharp spikes sticking out everywhere, and some falling from high places. The icy surface in places is slippery enough to send you flying. Strong winds will make it seem impossible to move forward.

But it’s impossible, of course, and in some cases you can even use natural conditions to your advantage. When you finally get through a difficult level, it gets even better. There is more The conference there is a well-timed jump – it uses the id-pad, buttons and crank, and will allow you to combine different actions to jump over large gaps and avoid obstacles. At one point, he even gets to ride a crow.

The music throughout is great and has a reflective feel to it, which sets you up nicely when the game takes an unexpected emotional turn at the end. As you approach the summit, the backstory shown in bits and pieces finally emerges, and it’s jerk-jerker. I got misty eyed, not because I was so relieved to finally reach the top. (Me too, or, as I found out while searching Reddit to see how other people are doing.)

The conference it will test your resolve as you die over and over trying to progress, but it’s not a motto. If you loved extreme platforming and the emotional tone of Celeste, This is definitely a must check.