Existing in the intersection of puzzle game, platformer and level editor, It’s A Wrap! casts you as the director of a low-budget, probably bad Hollywood flick that’s surely about to be sued for workplace injury claims. Essentially, you rejig platforms and background props and obstacles in the level (as the director) and then you zoom in for some dangerous side-scrolling goodness (as the actor). Oh, and did I mention that it’s out now? Shadow-drop!
Our ill-fated movie star is called Johnny Rush, and along with the rest of the crew, he’s stuck in a Groundhog Day time loop that restarts whenever the stunt is deemed unsuccessful (aka whenever Johnny gets squashed, burnt or hit with an asteroid on set). Rehearsals are important, people.
Rachel Watts (RPS in peace) checked out the game’s demo at this year’s Steam Next Fest and loved her time with it:
Each level plays out like a Hollywood film set: you’re given a script to follow and then have to synchronise the set and the actor so the action scene will play out perfectly. One level had me working out the timings of some falling rocks in an Indiana Jones-style film, where I had to get the order and the timings of each one correct so that when the action phase kicked in, my little dude could jump out of the way of each one just in time without getting splatted. In another level, I had to get the timings of set pieces correctly so that the main character could sneak past a giant robot on the set of a sci-fi film. It’s such a fun and smarty idea!
That demo, along with the full game, is available on Steam, GOG and the Epic Games Store. It’s A Wrap! also comes to the Nintendo Switch on August 31st.
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