Hell is a Mountain Flower

Simple indie games seem to be leading the market at the moment, since there are so many of them being developed and released every day. The fact that basically everyone has the tools to express their ideas is obviously a great thing, since this wasn’t possible a decade ago. However, it’s important that these games try to be original, or at least feature a few unique mechanics.

Hell is a Mountain Flower is an arcade jumper that although may be fairly disorienting at first, mainly due to the lack of explanations, it can occupy a few hours of your time. In short, it’s a minimalistic game in which you have to jump higher and higher up a blocky mountain, while trying not to fall. You also get to meet a few demons along the way, but it’s not the kind of confrontation you imagine.

The most annoying fact about the game is that you have to use your mouse to jump. While that wouldn’t normally be a problem, this is a mobile port, so the mouse movements are actually emulated screen swipes. It’s not very intuitive, nor is it very comfortable, but you can get used to it after a while, at least if you keep persevering. It’s worth noting that it doesn’t matter where you swipe, so you don’t have to click on your character at all times.

Whenever you manage to reach a demon and defeat it, you are awarded an extra consecutive jump. Hence, although you start with three jumps and really have to struggle to get to the higher platforms, this number increases gradually, and it makes it a lot easier to move and survive. Besides that, you can also right-click on blocks to hang from them for a few seconds, at least until they disintegrate.

The graphics are as simple as the gameplay itself, yet they are somehow quite beautiful. The colors change on a regular basis, and you can stumble onto mesmerizing patterns along the way. Even if there’s not much variety in the level design, each portion of the mountain looks different, at least when it comes to the layout of the blocks.

In the end, Hell is a Mountain Flower is both challenging and engaging, at least if you do not mind its simplicity. Moreover, the mechanics are enjoyable after you manage to figure out how to play the game and what your goals are.