Refunct review for Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One

Refunct is not a very long game: it describes itself on its Switch store page as featuring ?(h)alf an hour of uninterrupted quality playtime,? and I?m fairly certain this inflates the amount of time it?ll take most people to finish the game.

This is because Refunct is also not a very difficult game. Its gameplay consists entirely of jumping from platform to platform in a very small area, stepping on switches and causing more platforms to appear. There are no enemies to be found anywhere, no time limits to race against, and the challenge — such as it is — comes entirely from spotting the next switch to step on, and even those are lit up by pillars of light stretching into the sky.

So it?s not long, it?s not hard…why would you want to play it? Because, of course, it?s still quite enjoyable within its very limited scope.

This comes entirely from how well you move from platform to platform. I haven?t played many (or possibly any) first-person games that evoke the feeling of free-flowing movement as effortlessly as Refunct does. You bounce from platform to platform, or parkour back and forth between two walls, and you almost feel weightless, even viewing the game?s world through the Switch?s small handheld screen.

What?s more, you feel a sense of accomplishment as you jump on grey platforms and see them explode into green. It?s a very pleasant feeling.

For that matter, it?s a very pleasant game. Refunct won?t challenge you in any way, and it?ll be over before you know it. But — as someone who still has fond memories of playing the game when it first came out on Xbox a few years ago — I can tell you from firsthand experience that its pleasantness will stick with you long after you?ve finished its very short run time.

Dominique Grieshofer provided us with a Refunct Switch code for review purposes.