A Story About My Uncle
Gone North Games
Platform: PC (Steam, GMG, GoG)
A Story About My Uncle is a first person platforming game that unfortunately slipped under the radar a bit. There are a lot of Mirror's Edge fans out there who've been itching for more first person platforming... Well here you have it.
A father tells his daughter the story of how he tracks down his lost uncle. You inherit the magic grappling hook he's invented, your main traversal tool in the game. Don't let the title fool you, the focus of this game is pure (first person) platforming. If you're into Mirror's Edge, Portal (momentum) and Bionic Commando, you're gonna love this.
Gameplay trailer
The game is short (2 to 4 hours), but pretty challenging. The first levels focus on the grapple glove and momentum based jumps, but later you also find jet boots, which let you boost in the air once. A few gifs that show some more advanced action. (Gifcam'd these, sorry if the quality isn't optimal)
You can see the mid air dash here. This is a great 'panic mode' move, because this gives you an extra chance to find something to grapple on to.
In this gif you also see crystal recharging. You can only use the grapple 3 times mid air, but this recharge allows you to continue swinging, as long as you hit a crystal.
These moves are used extensively in the last stages, which can be tough. There are frequent checkpoints though, and retries are instant.
The platforming in this game can be exhilarating. It's very fun to chain grapples together and propel yourself high up, then hold your breath as you struggle to reach the landing platform.
Levels look really nice as well. Downsides are abysmal voice acting and bad character/creature designs, but luckily that's not essential to this game. Even though there's a story element, this is a pure platformer. With time trials as an extra for the hardcore.