Lifted review for PC

You can tell that the team behind Lifted are huge fans of the ‘80s. The game is about a teacher and student traveling through time to go on a series of swashbuckling adventures; as you might imagine from that sentence, the game feels like a cross between Back to the Future and Indiana Jones.

The comparison is only furthered by the fact that the voice actor behind the game’s main character, a student named Ari, sounds eerily like Michael J. Fox in Marty McFly mode. Given how much of the game’s short runtime is devoted to banter between him and the professor, it’s not an understatement to say that a lot hinges on solid voice acting, and it’s impressive to note how well the game delivers on that front.

What’s more, even the visuals are impressive. The game was created by a one-time Disney employee, and while I wouldn’t say Lifted is a Pixar-level masterpiece or anything, it’s still extremely nice to look at.

By this point, you might have noticed that I haven’t gotten to the gameplay. And that’s because that, unfortunately, is the least memorable or exciting part of Lifted. It’s a 2.5D platformer that…plays exactly how you’d expect a 2.5D platformer to play.

That’s not to say it’s badly done, to be sure. It’s got a nice variety in terms of platforming and puzzles, and there are some points where it calls on you to show some decent reflexes as you’re trying to escape some enemies. There are a few annoyances here and there – most of them centred around the use of a hook you’ll be called on to cross some larger gaps – but nothing that comes anywhere close to being a dealbreaker.

It’s just that the rest of Lifted is so well done that I can’t help but wish it was a complete package. Still, it comes close enough to achieving that level that it’s hard to complain too much. If you’re a fan of 2.5D platformers, you’d do well to check it out.

Adventure Works provided us with a Lifted PC code for review purposes.