Refunct | Chilled Out Game Review [REUPLOAD]

Welcome to Chilled-Out Game reviews, where I review the best games to unwind with. Refunct is a first person parkour game. You run and jump around the environment as you attempt to reach a series of buttons to raise the next set of platforms. It’s simple and relatively short, but very nicely executed.

It is very rare that I give praise to games which are both first person and require you to accurately jump across platforms. It’s notoriously difficult to pull off as you have no idea where your feet are when looking forward. See my review of Qing: The Land Beyond if you aren’t sure what I mean.

However, Refunct manages to avoid the problems other games often have simply by being a lot more forgiving. When you miss the edge of a platform it’s as if your character has grabbed the edge and climbed up that last bit. You don’t need to worry about perfecting your jumps to have a lot of fun, flinging yourself across the level.

Your momentum carries through your jumps and slides beautifully and it is honestly a joy just to run around, trying to make longer and longer jumps and reaching the top of the tallest towers. Even the underwater movement is great and that’s not even that important of a movement mechanic in this game.

The default button placement for the controller is a little odd as you only need the analogue sticks to move and the shoulder buttons to jump and duck. This really is quite nice to use but took a moment to get used to initially. Although there isn’t exactly a lot of detail in the visuals, I really like the aesthetic.

It’s what I’d expect Nintendo to make as a tech demo for a new console. The day/night cycle and the lighting are gorgeous, the underwater effect is great and it really shines at the end of the game when more colours get involved. The soundtrack is lovely too, managing to be both uplifting and relaxing at the same time.

There isn’t much I can say to criticise it, it’s just a really fun little game. The only point I can make is that it’s pretty short, I was able to finish it in about 20 minutes, but since it only cost two pounds and was made by a single developer, I really can’t complain.