Downward

Fantasy Mirrors Edge with small open world but linear porgression, more familiar to ME Catalyst.
Lot of "indie aspiring to be AA" junk in animations and sound. I can excuse that. But physics can bug sometimes, meaning you can loose momentum and gaining it is inconsistent. Momentum that is important to speedrun challenge runs for achievements.
Cool mechanic with "magic orbs" that alter the state of the world. Unfortunately underutilized and not well explained.
Unsatisfying ending, especially post credit level.
6/10. I can only recommend it if you want fist person parkour and can excuse the junk.

Downward: Enhanced Edition, developed by Caracal Games and published by Plug In Digital, is a first-person parkour-focused platformer that immerses players in a post-apocalyptic Earth filled with mysterious ruins and altered gravity. Released in 2017, the game emphasizes exploration and traversal over traditional combat, inviting players to navigate a world shaped by the aftermath of strange celestial phenomena. Its combination of fluid movement, atmospheric environments, and light RPG elements makes it a unique entry in the parkour-platforming genre, though it is not without its shortcomings.
The gameplay centers on mastering parkour mechanics to traverse expansive environments. Players can jump, climb, slide, and perform acrobatic maneuvers to overcome obstacles and explore the world. The movement system is intuitive and fluid, allowing for satisfying traversal that rewards precision and timing. An upgrade system tied to collectible orbs allows players to enhance stats such as health and mobility, adding a subtle layer of progression that encourages exploration. Time trial challenges further extend replayability, pushing players to optimize their routes and refine their parkour skills.
Visually, Downward: Enhanced Edition excels in creating a sense of scale and atmosphere. The game features a variety of landscapes, from jagged volcanic terrain to snow-laden ruins, each rendered with attention to detail and designed to encourage vertical and horizontal exploration. The environments are filled with hidden paths and collectibles, rewarding players who take the time to explore thoroughly. The enhanced edition takes advantage of modern hardware, offering improved textures, lighting effects, and smooth performance that heighten immersion. Subtle design choices, such as environmental cues and level layout, guide players naturally while still allowing for a sense of discovery.
The narrative in Downward: Enhanced Edition is minimalist, framing the game around the player’s quest to recover three crystals that could restore balance to the world. A mysterious female voice guides the protagonist, adding an element of intrigue, but character development and storytelling are limited. While this minimalism allows the focus to remain on traversal and atmosphere, some players may find the story underdeveloped and emotionally distant. The plot serves primarily as a motivation for exploration rather than a driving force for engagement, emphasizing experience over narrative depth.
Combat is minimal and largely incidental, consisting of simple interactions such as dodging attacks or retrieving crystals from enemies. This simplicity reinforces the game’s emphasis on parkour and exploration but may leave players expecting more action feeling underwhelmed. The short runtime, averaging around five hours, also contributes to a sense that the experience, while visually and mechanically impressive, could have benefited from additional content or challenges to deepen engagement.
Overall, Downward: Enhanced Edition is a visually striking and mechanically satisfying parkour adventure that rewards exploration and mastery of its traversal systems. Its fluid movement, varied environments, and atmospheric design create a distinctive experience that stands apart from traditional action or platforming games. While its narrative is sparse and combat limited, the game succeeds in delivering a unique and contemplative journey through a beautifully realized post-apocalyptic world. For players seeking an immersive parkour adventure that prioritizes movement, exploration, and atmosphere over combat, Downward: Enhanced Edition offers a memorable and engaging experience.
Rating: 7/10

Early Impressions – A Parkour Gem Worth Exploring 7/10
I just finished my first three hours with Downward: Enhanced Edition, and this game is fantastic if you enjoy parkour exploration! The movement is smooth and fun, and the entire world was practically designed to climb, vault and sprint through. It isn't just traversal, it's an open invitation to explore.
It has its problems visually some textures and lighting are dated, and I ran into some mounting bugs here and there. But honestly, I can understand why this is a thing. The enhancements scrape away enough of the roughness that the experience feels fresh and is playable.
There are some boss fights that might seem on the easier side (unplugging battery packs is a tricky puzzle more than a difficult challenge) but again, I didn't mind. Sometimes, a low stakes parkour game with a beautiful world is exactly what you want. The worlds are so well designed I could totally see wanting to 100% everything to uncover and see what secrets were locked away behind walls.
If you like movement/running based games or simply want something atmospheric and relaxing give this a go. It's not perfect but it has heart and that's important.

Fun little fantasy parkour game. Bought it a while back, came back recently for the Enhanced 2.0 update of the game, and it's been pretty nice. Easy to learn and difficult to master, straight-forward to beat the story but a lot of challenges outside of that.

The story tries to be deep and dramatic, but it lacks a bit of punch. You can tell where things are going long before they actually get there, so it probably would've been more effective storytelling with either a different structure or with the presented structure tidied up a lot.

Combat could've had more variation and required required more timing, rather than the same handful of "keep away from the attacks until the weak spot becomes clickable" golems. But still okay outside of the drones that blow up in your face until you learn to backward-dodge away. Pretty fun for the 10 hours or so that it took me to beat it.

8/10

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