GOOOOOOAL! Smash Upward, Scream Louder

This is a platformer, but in reverse, and grace is not the point. You climb higher and higher as a bear who cannot seem to win a hand of cards, and his answer to every problem is demolition. Platforms are not hurdles to clear so much as things to crash through on the way up. Somewhere at the very top there is an answer to what all this is about. The game does not tell you up front, which is a fair bit of motivation to keep smashing.

Between the climbing and the crushing, the game mixes in its own kind of variety: puzzles to solve, mini-games to play, and, of course, card games. Yes, the bear keeps trying his luck at cards. No, it keeps not working out. The whole thing is built on a famous meme and wears that proudly: a hand-drawn, colorful look full of loud contrasts, humor that runs from silly to dark, and a plot that follows dream logic more than any sensible one. It is also fully voiced and translated into English, so nothing interrupts the yelling. A note on the label on the box: the game carries adult content tags, so this one is strictly for grown-ups.