Who is God was developed by Magiko Games and retails for 80MSP. A copy of the game was provided by the developer for review purposes.

Who is God is the next in a line of platformers released by Magiko Games. However this one is different from their Platformance titles. Instead of trying to survive deadly obstacles your single goal here is to go vertical. The higher your altitude, the better your score. In fact the only thing scored is your height in the air. To accomplish this you simply jump from platform to platform, or rather you bounce from one spot to another; there is no jump button. This differentiates it from more traditional platformers while keeping the pace tight.

Here’s what we liked:

Theme – The four avatars in the game represent stereotypical figures of deities. None of them offer any attributes different from the others. The gimmick is that whichever avatar is used for a combined highest worldwide score has achieved god status. In this way god is constantly changing, one might be at the top of the leaderboards, then another, then another. So the title of the game really is a question that can only be answered by playing the game.

Challenge – The gameplay here is excellent. Any one session probably won’t last for more than a few minutes. It starts pretty easy but gets more difficult very quickly. The higher you get the further apart and smaller the platforms become. Go even higher and they start moving as well. The only powerup at your disposal is a jump boost, filled by collecting the stars that are scattered over the level. You can use the boost to jump up quickly or to save you in case of an errant jump. Who is God is somewhat unique in that there’s no actual way to beat it–each round must end with you taking a big fall.

Visuals – Magiko Games knows how to make an attractive product. The simple pixel based graphics have a lot of character. In a game like this the levels could have felt boring and static but they are sufficiently spiced up with cool effects. The look and feel of the game fit together very well.

Here’s what we didn’t like:

Expectations – Who is God is a great little game. The only thing it has against it is the weight of expectation. Fans of Magiko’s other titles may find that Who is God doesn’t quite hit the highs that the Platformance titles do in both character and gameplay. It isn’t a fair comparison, but it always comes to mind.

When taken on its own merits Who is God is an excellent platformer at a value price. It’s immediately playable yet difficult to master. Not every indie game is high quality, but this one definitely is. For the more cautious, the demo gives and excellent feel of what the entire game is and you really should try it.

Score: Buy It