Human: Fall Flat
Human: Fall Flat is a platform-puzzle video game developed by Lithuanian studio No Brakes Games and published by Curve Digital. It was released for Microsoft Windows, Linux and MacOS in July 2016, with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions in May 2017 and a Nintendo Switch version in December 2017.[2] A mobile port developed by Codeglue and published by 505 Games was released on 26 June 2019 for iOS and Android.[3]
Human: Fall Flat | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | No Brakes Games[lower-alpha 1] |
Publisher(s) | Curve Digital[lower-alpha 2] |
Director(s) | Tomas Sakalauskas |
Producer(s) | Tomas Sakalauskas[1] |
Engine | Unity |
Platform(s) | |
Release |
|
Genre(s) | Platform-puzzle |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Human: Fall Flat was made by a single developer, Tomas Sakalauskas, and has received mixed reviews. Reviewers praised the replayability of the puzzles and comedic animations. The game has sold more than 4 million copies.
Gameplay
Human: Fall Flat is a physics puzzle game where players play a customizable human, referred to in-game as Bob. Bob is stated to have no superhuman abilities; he is purely human.[4] Players can make him grab objects and climb up ledges using both his arms and looking with his head.[5][6]
Although Bob's standard appearance is a featureless, minimalist all-white human with a baseball cap, players are able to customize him to their liking, painting his body in a different array of colors and dressing him in a variety of costumes.[4]
The game is open-ended. Each level is themed differently, each containing multiple solutions to their unique puzzles.[4] Various remotes hidden in the game give players clues to learn the gameplay and ultimately solve the puzzles.[7]
Development
Human: Fall Flat was developed by a single developer, Tomas Sakalauskas. In 2012, Sakalauskas abandoned his work in IT to try video game development. Human came about after several unsuccessful projects.[1]
In October 2017, an online multiplayer feature was added to Human: Fall Flat, allowing up to eight people to play online or by LAN.[8]
A port to mobile platforms supporting iOS and Android was released on 26 June 2019.[9]
Reception
Reception | ||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Human: Fall Flat received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[10][11][12][13] Dan Stapleton of IGN recommended the game for watching rather than actually playing, praising the slapstick controls, humorous animations, and character customization.[6] Zack Furniss of Destructoid enjoyed the replayability of the puzzles and praised the multiple solutions each puzzle provided.[5]
By February 2018, more than 2 million copies of the game had been sold across all platforms.[1] According to Curve, the sales of the game were boosted with the addition of online multiplayer in late 2017; by early January 2018, the game had broken over 1 million units sold on the Windows version, but within a month, had seen an additional 700,000 sales.[16][17][18] By June 2018, the game achieved over 4 million sales across all platforms.[19]
Human: Fall Flat was the first video game released by Super Rare Games, which is a limited-print company that physically publishes Nintendo Switch games. 5,000 copies were made available to order in March 2018.[20]
Accolades
Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | Develop Awards | New Games IP | Nominated | [21][22] |
The Independent Game Developers' Association Awards | Casual/Social Game | Nominated | [23] | |
2018 | The Independent Game Developers' Association Awards | Best Audio Design | Nominated | [24][25] |
Best Casual Game | Won |
Notes
- Ported to mobile platforms by Codeglue.
- Mobile port of the game was published by 505 Games.
References
- "Why 2m sales means the Human: Fall Flat developer never has to work in IT again". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
- Phillips, Tom (11 August 2017). "The Flame in the Flood, Human: Fall Flat headed to Nintendo Switch". Eurogamer. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
- Sholtz, Matthew (20 June 2019). "Human: Fall Flat is coming to Android thanks to a partnership between 505 Games and Curve Digital". Android Police. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
- Donnelly, Joe (26 July 2016). "Seven ways Human Fall Flat will make you smile". PC Gamer. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
- Furniss, Zack (6 August 2016). "Review: Human: Fall Flat". Destructoid. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
- Stapleton, Dan (28 July 2016). "Human: Fall Flat Review". IGN. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
- Minguez, Cindy. "Human Fall Flat Review". TrueAchievements. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
- Donnelly, Joe (31 October 2017). "Human Fall Flat adds 8-person online multiplayer". PC Gamer. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
- Holt, Kris (20 June 2019). "'Human Fall Flat' lands on iOS and Android June 26th". Engadget. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
- "Human: Fall Flat for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
- "Human: Fall Flat for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
- "Human: Fall Flat for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- "Human: Fall Flat for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- McMahon, Conor (17 December 2017). "Human: Fall Flat Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- Koopman, Daan (11 December 2017). "Human: Fall Flat Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- Calvin, Alex (8 January 2018). "Curve Digital's Human: Fall Flat surpasses 1m sales on Steam". PC Games Insider. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
- Calvin, Alex (15 February 2018). "Human: Fall Flat hits 1.7m sales on PC". PC Games Insider. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
- Bensen, Julian (20 February 2018). "Why Human: Fall Flat's success is "f***ing crazy"". PCGamesN. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- "Physics-based puzzle platformer Human: Fall Flat smashes sales charts with four million units sold". Plan of Attack. 19 June 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
- "Super Rare Games". Retrieved 21 April 2018.
- Cleaver, Sean (12 May 2017). "Develop Awards 2017: The Finalists". MCV. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- Cleaver, Sean (12 July 2017). "Guerrilla Games win Studio of the Year at the Develop Awards 2017". MCV. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- "2017 Winners". The Independent Game Developers' Association. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
- Stephenson, Suzi (19 September 2018). "TIGA Announces Games Industry Awards 2018 Finalists". The Independent Game Developers' Association. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
- "2018 Winners". The Independent Game Developers' Association. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.