A janky however brutal platformer, Solely Up! blew up this Could after changing into a sensational hit with Twitch viewers. It’s one in all 2023’s most viral Steam video games thus far. Nevertheless, in a surprising and abrupt choice, the developer has eliminated the sport from Steam, with no plans for it to return to the platform. In a submit, the solo developer behind Solely Up! said that this was their first foray into making a recreation, and now they wish to say goodbye to it.
The Recognition Behind Solely Up!
Solely Up! launched in Could 2023, providing a third-person platforming expertise akin to the title Getting Over It with Bennet Foddy. The sport’s reputation didn’t peak till effectively after its launch, because the indie closely relied on phrase of mouth to succeed in its viewers.
Because of its difficult nature, Solely Up! received its large break when Twitch streamers like IShowSpeed, recognized for taking part in high-difficulty video games began noticing it, finally resulting in a viral gross sales interval. The parkour recreation hit over 90,000 viewers on Twitch and 10,000 concurrency gamers in June. Nevertheless, Solely Up’s reputation declined considerably following its peak in July.
Solely Up! had a ‘Largely Optimistic’ overview rating after getting 12,000 person evaluations, with some gamers praising its capricious 3D platforming. Nonetheless, a substantial chunk of damaging evaluations critiqued its glitchy physics and hasty designs. Contemplating that Solely Up! was faraway from Steam for allegedly stealing belongings from different video games beforehand, the title additionally gained notoriety for being a recreation that appeared prefer it was put collectively by slapping already-existing belongings collectively. Let’s not overlook that it marketed NFTs, too, with images of Goblintown tokens showing on sure ranges.
“Peace of Thoughts and Therapeutic”
Indiesolodev, the brains behind Solely Up!, wrote within the recreation’s Steam neighborhood that the title has saved him below a whole lot of stress for the previous few months since Solely Up! was launched, and now they wish to put the sport behind them. He additionally said that what he wants now could be “pealing of thoughts and therapeutic,” and he plans to take a pause to additional his schooling on recreation design.
With new data and experiences, Indiesolodev is prioritizing his sophomore undertaking, “Kith.” He describes it as a totally completely different recreation from Solely Up!, highlighting cinematography. We’re not completely certain what which means till we see extra footage. Nonetheless, Indiesolodev desires it to be created by a small workforce relatively than being a solo factor once more to stop the stress of operating as a solo operator.
Regardless of Its Sudden Disappearance, Solely Up! Raked In Hundreds of thousands
Gamers are already mourning the lack of the sport’s sudden disappearance. At present, Solely Up! has already been delisted from Steam, however its person evaluations stay. Regardless of its controversy, although, Solely Up! was a large success. It was priced at $6, and through its comparatively quick time on the most important gaming storefront for PC platforms, it raked in around $2.6 million in gross income alone.
Will You Lose the Sport If You Personal It?
For people who have purchased Solely Up! Earlier than the Steam itemizing has been torn down, there’s no want to worry—you gained’t lose your buy of it since there’s no indication of Steam possession being rescinded. Solely Up! will solely be unavailable for many who don’t have or wish to purchase the sport proper now. Gamers will previous purchases of Solely Up! and can proceed to have it of their libraries, out there to play and obtain anytime.
