In the land of PS5 pros, and video cards being released like candy, The Arcade Crew still believes in old school graphics, and old school gaming. No big dragons, or realistic playing fields. You don't have to have the best TV in the world. They're just good at taking a classic feel, or ideal, and making it into a game. Their latest seems like their imagination and Windows 95 had a PC baby. And it's called MainFrames.
Your character's name is Floppy, and you're trying to make it in the digital world. In order to do that, you must traverse through this side scrolling adventure through, you guessed it, other windows. Daemons (no spell check, Eric) are trying to keep you from doing that, putting obstacles in your path. Go meet some other friends, and find your purpose, all while going through another platforming clinic.
I say that, because the demo starts you off pretty light. You can jump, spin and wall bounce, as platformers go. The game then tells you that you can click on windows and move them to where you need them to be. Later, you can click on windows, to make them change from floors to walls, and even ceilings. Or, nothing at all, so you can navigate through. The platforming is a little easy. Figuring out which window does what is the tricky part, for your clicks also reveal jump boosters, and sometimes crimson colored stage hazards.
All this is wrapped around the narrators of the game, who are going back and forth on how to present this game to you. They've removed all the talking, and context, because they just want you to play it. When the demo ends, and your brain is mush, then they tell you that that was the demo, goodbye. Your save file goes away, and you get to wishlist it. I had a whole bunch of computer puns for this article, but the game toward the end warped my fragile little hard drive. If you don't want to spoil it for yourself, then don't watch the video below, as I went through the entire thing. You can watch as I short circuit toward the end, if you're a masochist. Otherwise, go grab it now, and boot it up. (There it is.)
