Go on a Puzzle-Platforming Trip with SELF

In the free puzzle adventure SELF, you take control of a strange round character that is dropped into the playing field by a giant hand. From here, you must jump around, avoid hazards and collect items. It has much in common with a similar title, GigaSword, in that it emphasizes skilled movement over logic puzzles.

A strange platforming adventure

SELF is fairly straightforward platform gaming, but it has a twist: by pressing a certain key, you can make your character shoot out a long tongue-like appendage that can be used to interact with your environment.

Swing to victory

The character’s “tongue,” which can be directed when it is extending, will stick to the game’s backdrop, allowing the character to swing from it like a rope. Your job as the player is to choose the best place to stick this rope. If you choose the right place, then you will swing over hazards and towards safety; choose the wrong place, and you will swing into a wall or worse. Each room has a number of objects you need to collect before you can move on.

Can you solve the puzzles?

With its retro-80s graphics and emphasis on solving puzzles with a single implement, SELF invites comparisons with VVVVVV, a similarly eccentric puzzle-platformer. SELF turns out to be a very different game, however, largely due to the uniqueness of its rope-swinging mechanic. Where VVVVVV is based around flipping gravity, SELF is based around mastering gravity and ensuring that your swings land you in the right spot for you to progress.

Simple and addictive

While the game’s central mechanic may take a while to get used to, the gameplay turns out to be straightforward. Players who enjoy a puzzle-platformer should find SELF an addictive way of spending their time. The fact that it can be played in your browser adds to its accessibility.