140 Review – Somewhat Fulfilling Platformer Experience

• Title – 140
• Developer – Carlsen Games
• Publisher – Carlsen Games
• Platform(s) – Microsoft Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch (reviewed), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Wii U
• MSRP – $4.99
• Release Date – January 9th, 2020
• Review Code was Provided for this Review.

There are so many Platformers out these days that they honestly tend to blend together. This is coming from someone who’s played at least 5 or 6 of them in the last year. 140 doesn’t really change my feelings on Platformers at this point but that didn’t sway my enjoyment of the game, even with its flaws.

In 140, you control a shape that changes form depending on where you are and what you’re doing on a given level. Pretty simplistic quite honestly, there aren’t really any twists that I thought there would be from a couple of minutes into playing this game. There is definitely some variety in this game, I was worried 140 would be a generic jumping platformer but thankfully there were different levels that kept the game from being too one dimensional.

I was happy with the checkpoints in this game unlike another game from this developer that will be reviewed soon. They aren’t unforgiving in the slightest (as long as you don’t exit the game before finishing a level), I was worried that if I made one minor mistake the checkpoints would be brutal and a chore to have to deal with, but they were fine and not an intrusion to the gameplay at all.

The checkpoints are a part of one of the main topics among Platformers in the player’s mind, the difficulty. If there’s no difficulty option in a game, I never want it to be too easy or too difficult, I much more prefer a split between straightforward and strenuous and that’s exactly what 140 has, to a point that is. I struggled with some levels at times but I got the hang of the level after a couple of tries and eventually completed it with a sense of pride and accomplishment as I did it. Now we have to go back to my statement of “to a point” earlier, the difficulty I felt was perfectly balanced until we get towards the end of the game and then it gets to a point of pure ridiculousness. The last levels feel unbelievably difficult to actually master and you feel uninterested in trying to complete something that feels like it takes much longer to complete than you really want. These final levels don’t feel balanced in the slightest and really soured me a bit on the game.

The Music of 140 is admittedly pretty similar to many other Platformers that I’ve played over the years but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. The Music coincides with your movement and really gets you more into the game because of it. I love this type of music style and will never fail to mention how pleasant it is to the ears.

The length of the game is definitely something I can’t ignore. I do know this game is only $4.99 but I feel it just misses the mark in the length I was personally looking for. I’ve had this problem with other recent games such as Untitled Goose Game, just when you feel the game could stand to go one or two more levels, the game just ends. I don’t feel an extra level or two would’ve been too repetitive to the game as a whole and it actually would’ve added to the overall value.

I know it seems like I may have dismissed 140 quite a bit in this review but there are definitely more pros than cons such as the music, level design and variety, simplistic and smooth controls, and so much more that make 140 fun. Certain things such as the length and difficulty towards the end have just swayed my overall feelings a bit.

I do think you should get this game if you’re looking for a quick platformer to spend a couple of hours in. Also, considering the fact that there’s a deal for 140 and THOTH where if you buy one you automatically get the other, the timing if you were to get this game is perfect because of the 2 for 1 deal. I recommend this game if you’re a big fan of platformers and can’t get enough of them. 140 as a whole is fun but is held back with length and difficulty issues that leave you somewhat fulfilled with mixed feelings.