Bit Pit

Sometimes, a good concept beats everything else when it comes to video games. People are willing to put up with many inconveniences just to enjoy a neat idea, which is why many of the popular games out there have real issues in certain regards. It’s enough to think about the combat system in Gothic 1 to realize just how much can be shoved under the rug if the rest of the experience is worth the effort.

Bit Pit is a simple and apparently harmless video game that maybe doesn’t look like much in the beginning. The retro graphics pack a mean punch nostalgia-wise, but it all appears to be some kind of Tetris clone. You’d be dead wrong to dismiss Bit Pit as a clone, however, because it is actually a co-op platformer with survival elements and a pretty hardcore difficulty level right from the start.

Your goal is to make it to the top of the pit while avoiding the falling blocks and the pool of acid that steadily rises beneath you. Block falls on your head? Dead. Acid touches a pixel of your body? Dead. There are a couple of other ways you can doom yourself as well, including bombs and sharp objects, but those come later. In short, it’s paramount that you learn to move quickly and constantly plan your next move.

The said blocks are not all the same, however. While most of them are just regular solid pieces that keep you floating above the acid, others actively try to end your progress. Some explode if you touch them, others are pointy and kill you if you jump on top of them, and there are many other examples. After a while, it becomes easier to recognize the dangers and avoid them.

Everything you do is rewarded with points, including just staying alive. Blocks are destroyed by acid and converted into points, which are then multiplied by the number of seconds you have managed to stay alive. You can play with up to three other people on the same screen, provided you have separate controllers. The game supports keyboards as well, so it’s not actually a requirement for single player.

All things considered, Bit Pit has all the right ingredients needed to become a favorite with the crowds. It may need a little polish in the gameplay department, as well as a bit of variety in level design, but it’s the idea itself that has the capability to make the game a bestseller.