PLATFORM: PC, PS5, SWITCH, XBOX SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Originally released in 2016 as a PC exclusive, Downward is a first-person parkour platformer set amongst the ruins of an unusually bright and colourful post-apocalyptic earth. Seeking relics that will explain how the planet came to its untimely end, your time with Downward will be mostly be spent scouring the environment for hidden items, solving simple puzzles to access new areas, and acquiring increasingly fancy abilities that allow you to delve deeper into the ruins.

Coming across a bit like Prince of Persia crossed with Mirror’s Edge, you’ll be running around, clambering up ledges, jumping across vast chasms, leaping between vertical surfaces and grappling through the air as you traverse the open world in pursuit of your next objective (which, helpfully, is always easy to find at the touch of a button). One thing you won’t be doing is fighting, because even though enemies are present, you’re not able to engage them in combat. All you can do is avoid enemy attacks until they slow down long enough for their weak points to change colour, at which time you can run up to them and remove their power core to shut them down.

Downward is a fairly short game – around 3-4 hours from beginning to end – but this just means that nothing outstays its welcome. There are enough ideas to keep things interesting (the “recall” ability, allowing you to mark your current position and immediately warp back to it if you accidentally fall off a ledge, is a particularly excellent idea), and there’s a nice level of challenge that ensures you really need to perfect your parkour manoeuvres. At less than a tenner it won’t break the bank but may well provide a solid evening’s worth of entertainment.