If you’ve been living under an indie rock the past week, you might have missed out on arguably one of the best indie games of the year inPEAK, a fun co-operative climbing game that tests your morals and friendships all in one neat package.
It has taken over Steam in the past week and is relatively affordable for the majority of PC players. Its main premise is simple: you and your friends are dropped onto a randomly generated world and need to climb to the peak of the island to call for rescue. There are a lot more nuances than that, but overall, the game is a mix of mystery and fun that I have been longing for for quite some time now.
A lot of its charm comes from the characters and the art style of the world, and the way in which every achievement you complete unlocks new cosmetics and a badge that appears on the sash of your character. As you climb peaks, you also unlock new difficulty options that add an extra challenge to the game, such as making you take damage at night when it’s cold, or even as far as perma death if you or a friend were to die.
For those who just want to experience some goofy fun with friends, though, there is a lot to do here. Sticking together is vital to help friends who might be hungry or lacking stamina up to a higher ledge, and finding various items to take on the hectic climb is essential, especially when a deadly fog is chasing you down and forcing you to scramble up the mountain faster.
It’s a game that is hard to explain but fun to play, so I implore anyone sitting on the fence to jump intoPEAKas soon as possible. Even if you are playing solo, there is some fun to be had in trying to get some of the achievements or see how far you’re able to get. But it is definitely worth playing with friends.
Just remember rule 0: Never leave a scout behind… unless you want the Scoutmaster to get angry. No one is ever prepared for that cryptid monster encounter.
