Human Fall Flat | Review

Human Fall Flat is a physics based puzzle game with a bit of an emphasis on platforming. It features minimal story, little music, and somehow manages to be a fun game despite that.

PROS:

-The simple art style looks nice. Most objects, including the player, have virtually no visual detail. The color of every object is flat and textureless. This might sound like a negative, but the game benefits from the clean art style. What could easily look lazy with other games ends up looking clean here.

-The physics are used in the puzzle solving. This might sound obvious, but many puzzle games I've played that have an emphasis on their physics tend to have the physics act as an obstacle rather than a useful mechanic, such as Surgeon Simulator. Human Fall Flat depends on the physics for the sake of puzzle solving, such as using a catapult in certain levels to clear large gaps.

The physics do add a sense of challenge at times, but it always feels like the game is functioning correctly when it comes to physics based puzzle solving.

-The multiplayer functions nicely. You can play Human Fall Flat online (up to 8 players) or with splitscreen (2 players). The Nintendo Switch version also allows local multiplayer using multiple Switch consoles (up to 8 players).

Using the methods mentioned above, I've had no issues, though I've only been able to test with two people total. I can imagine some latency should be expected with larger groups, but I don't have any way to test that.

CONS:

-The music seemingly starts at random. Human Fall Flat does have music. The music that it has is actually kinda nice. The music is also inconsistent. The idea is that the music will play when something noteworthy happens, but it often plays halfway through a puzzle, or when you're just walking. Not a big deal, but it would be nice for some more consistency with the music, especially since it is a nice sounding soundtrack.

-The framerate is inconsistent. I played Human Fall Flat on both the PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Switch. The PS4 maintained a fairly solid framerate, but the Switch version was all over the place. It's less of an issue in handheld mode, and thankfully the local multiplayer (multiple consoles) doesn't seem to add to the issue. However the same can't be said for splitscreen, which makes the framerate more consistent, but far worse. Just for clarification, the PS4 version ran fine in single player and in split screen.

-Multiplayer is almost a necessity. I'm always a fan of co-op games, especially when they offer a good amount of multiplayer options like Human Fall Flat does. What I don't care for is the single player experience with this game. The game becomes far more tedious than humorous when playing it alone.

-(SWITCH) CONTROLLER REVIEW:

Human Fall Flat is compatible with The Pro Controller, Joy-Con controllers, and sideways single Joy-Con. GameCube controllers come close, but it lacks a ZL button, making the left arm impossible to move.

OVERALL OPINION:

Human Fall Flat is a fun game when played with friends. It has clever puzzles that require the player to think about the physics. The single player is not nearly as much fun, and I honestly wouldn't recommend it. Thankfully there's a good number of options for multiplayer.

Human Fall Flat is available through these links:

Nintendo Switch Digital: Amazon | eShop

PlayStation 4 Digital: Amazon | PlayStation Store

Xbox One Digital: Microsoft Store

PC Digital: Amazon | Steam | Humble Store