Thank you September Games for providing us with a review code!

Oh boy, another QWOP-like and Getting Over It-type game where the developer hates your guts and revels in seeing you suffer from an extremely obtuse control scheme. Like most of these quirky movement simulation games, Stilt Fella has an extremely simple premise. Take your dude named Fella, and get him to the goal.

However, the first thing anyone will notice once starting up the game is that gamepad is highly recommended and that the only methods of movement are the control sticks and triggers. Couldn’t get any simpler—and yet the first thing that happens is that you fail. You’ll fail again and again, falling on your low-polygon face for minutes at a time on your funny stilts. Oh look! You’re finally able to manage one step! Just six more until you complete level one! The next level starts and it almost feels like you’re back to step one, cause they decided to add some gimmick, or obstruction, or whatever that makes you feel like a big ol’ idiot! By the way, it isn’t enough to reach the goal, Fella has to break through the red ribbon at the end as well.

September Games is managing to teach people how to walk with their hands. Except you’re walking on stilts—and that’s a hard thing to do. Don’t even bother with trying to learn keyboard controls unless you really want to put yourself at a disadvantage. Stilt Fella is one of those 2.5D games, meaning that the environment and graphics are 3D, but the movement is on a 2D plane. The only choice is moving left or right. Most of the challenge is simply getting used to the controls and learning how to move efficiently. But like I said before, this game has it out for you and everything you ever valued in life. The moment you start moving on those stilts like a ballerina, the subsequent levels will laugh in your face and tell you that you stink like rotting eggs. Better get acquainted with that game over screen as you’ll be seeing it a lot!

Despite Stilt Fella’s cruelty, it’s a very rewarding game that hits those dopamine receptors like sliding into a hot bath after a long day of work. Each completed level will make you feel very accomplished with yourself. Some levels even reward you with cute cosmetics to outfit your Fella. From trucker hats, funny shirts and even Sonic shoes (gotta go fast, on stilts), there’s a pleasant sense of humor with the stuff unlocked throughout the many levels.

The simplistic controls aren’t actually comfortable long-term, which I found out the hard way. Most games I don’t really play in bursts or at small moments. I like to play as long as I physically can without suffering from headaches. I did find out that my hands are capable of bruising, which is a first for me. Playing Stilt Fella for long periods of time is not recommended as the constant pressure and positions that your thumbs and fingers will experience will lead to an uncomfortable feeling. Pace yourself with Stilt Fella, because it’s not going anywhere. Don’t be like me and try to blitz your way through or your hands won't forgive you so easily.

Stilt Fella is mostly silent, with music playing at the beginning and sound effects within the levels. As for the levels themselves, they greatly vary. You’ll have Fella move through a basic obstacle course, through freeway traffic (in which he can get hit by a car), cyberspace, pyramids, and snowy tundra. The graphics themselves are very basic but do enough of a job.

A year after Stilt Fella released, September Games released a free update that added additional levels, as well as more game modes. There is Rocket Fella, the “easy” mode where Fella has rockets attached to his stilts. The levels are remixed to accommodate for the rockets. Rocket Fella unlocks after a certain point, and additional levels can only unlock after beating them in Stilt Fella mode. Iron Fella is the Ironman mode, which means you gotta beat all the standard levels in the game in only one attempt. You lose, you start over from the beginning. First-Person Fella is self-explanatory. Fella Mode is Stilt Fella, minus the stilts. Pretty much the “hard” mode. (Oh yeah, not like the experience was hard enough already!)

If you’re easily frustrated or have little patience, avoid Stilt Fella like a plague. This is not a casual romp through a meadow of daisies. This is the game for the people who want a challenge. This is the one for people who can take a few dozen lickings and keep on ticking. Stilt Fella is a hard game, maybe even obnoxiously so. I haven’t beaten every level in this abusive experience, but it’s just such an interesting concept that ends up doing a lot with the simple premise that I can recommend it to a bevy of gamers. The morality concerns are near non-existent besides the whole “getting hit by a car thing.” So grab your friends and family and subject them to this gem as it’s always better to suffer together than it is alone.