There’s a lot going on, in this game that isn’t a game. This non-game, is developed and published by Draw Me A Pixel, which is definitely not a French indie game company. Seriously, trust me: Nothing happens. Absolutely zero. I stared at a screen for five hours.

Okay, but actually, a good place to start this review is to remind ourselves of the definition of the word satire. It’s a word that gets misused almost as often as the word “ironic” — no thanks, as ever, to Ms. Alanis Morissette — but There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension is one of the few places in recent memory that I would use it.

Here goes. Ask Merriam-Webster and they’ll tell you satire is “a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn,” or alternatively “wit, irony or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly.” The Cambridge Dictionary states it a little more straightforwardly: “a way of criticizing people or ideas in a humorous way, especially in order to make a political point, or a piece of writing that uses this style.”

Now that we’ve cleared that up, There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension absolutely does not satirize and mock the gaming industry — that is, specifically, the AAA gaming industry, whatever that means — to the back of beyond. In case you can’t tell, I’m lying. That’s exactly what it does. It does so cleverly, and sharply, at a point in time when this feels incredibly topical and even on-the-nose.

True enough, the scope and nature of the game isn’t particularly one that explicitly speaks to poisonous cultures of abuse within the companies that make up “AAA” development, and I’ll concede that there probably wouldn’t be a way for a video game to do so tastefully or respectfully. That said, it does say a lot. Playing There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension is tantamount to playing an encyclopedia of Jim Sterling’s YouTube career. All told, I’m pretty inclined to say that was very deliberate, given that they utilize the term “Fee 2 Pay,” which — you guessed it — was coined by Jim Sterling in the first place.

There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension speaks to predatory monetization. It speaks to gaming companies demanding exorbitant prices for games that are littered with bugs and glitches because Quality Assurance staff are devalued and because certain game distribution services — yes, Steam, I’m looking at you — do next to no curation. It speaks to rampant product placement, and paywalling DLC even in “free to play” games. It addresses “fee 2 pay” games, microtransactions and the shoddy, even cruel ethics of loot boxes. I could go on. Also: Go watch Jim Sterling’s videos. Seriously. You can thank me later.

What’s more, There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension does all of this while being fun. It’s a genuinely enjoyable game! This further contests the idea that games can’t be fun if they want to make significant social commentary. For one thing, the game is filled to the brim with dry (at times even dark) meta humor and so many instantly recognizable references to other games I nearly wondered if Draw Me A Pixel was going to walk themselves into copyright trouble.

As far as the humor goes, “My creator has to eat,” for instance, hits particularly hard. That is, in light of recent revelations that Activision Blizzard employees were unable to afford lunch in the Activision Blizzard cafeteria, where they work, while an additional $40 million lined Bobby Kotick’s pockets at the end of 2019. Yes, that Bobby Kotick. One of the most overpaid CEOs in the world Bobby Kotick. The man with a net worth of $7 billion. No, I’m not getting off topic; I haven’t the slightest idea what you mean.

On another note, a lot of the game (especially in its first half) is expressly about being set loose to “break” game assets on purpose, while the game’s central AI complains about everything you do. We are in a period where stress is high, and so are the stakes of AAA game company corruption and abuse. There’s something deeply satisfying and even cathartic, about breaking a game and completely ignoring the white man-slash-computer program yelling at me. Now, granted, that’s exactly what the game wants you to do, AI’s protests be damned — but we can accept that cognitive dissonance to let the satire accomplish its purpose, I’d say.

Speaking of There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension’s gameplay, its mechanics are (overall) pleasantly straightforward. It revolves entirely around point-and-click or click-and-drag controls, and provides an enjoyable balance between puzzling and adventure. The puzzles may require some ingenuity, but they never feel punishing and are enjoyably varied. The game further offers a “hint” mechanic, one that you might never need to use. However, it is available without penalty or cost for players who get truly stymied. In short, the game offers a satisfying amount of challenge while still remaining open to players with different interests, skill sets and ways of thinking. Additionally it never feels targeted to be cruel. In essence, there’s no “being bad at” There Is No Game — which is something that AAA developers could learn from while we’re at it, if you ask me.

Sadly, though, I can’t entirely glow all over the gameplay. First of all, there were moments where the game’s narrative pace dragged quite noticeably, particularly at the end of chapters. While it typically picked its energy back up at the beginning of the next chapter, it made my more or less five hours of gameplay time feel longer than that, and not always in a good way. Secondly, some of the puzzling required quick responses that might run a little antithetical to an otherwise quite accessible game. While this isn’t an enormous problem, as the game features generously frequent autosaves, it still stood out enough to me that I felt it’d be disingenuous not to point it out.

On the subject of accessibility, let’s please talk about eye strain. The graphics in There Is No Game are mostly a lot of fun, rendered in an attractive (but not overbearing) pixel art style. Then … there are glitches. Deliberate glitches, mind you; without giving too much away, they’re part of the narrative. Still, they are often bright and jarring and frequently involve strobe lights and dizzying shaking of the screen.

If I — someone who has no preexisting conditions affecting my vision or otherwise making me sensitive to these kinds of visual effects — found them uncomfortable and sometimes even painful to look at, I can only imagine how much more that would be true for players who do live with these kinds of conditions. I’m sure there was a better way to code this aspect of the narrative — or just a way to provide an accessibility option that would turn them off. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: accessibility is sexy.

The soundscape of There Is No Game is well-made and balanced. The soundtrack, put together by Xiaotian Shi and Pascal Cammisotto, is fun to listen to without being overbearing. The sound effects feel realistic when they need to. They also feel kitschy and game-y when they need to, and the game does a great job of foregrounding dialogue from a small group of talented, engaging voice actors. The subtitles are clear and legible, and are a good size … which makes the hard-on-the-eyes glitching graphics stand out all the more, but I won’t flog a dead horse.

To round this review off, though, I’ll just reiterate: There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension is genuinely a worthwhile — and, I’ll add, very reasonably priced — satirical game. It doesn’t necessarily offer a lot of replayability, unless you’re dead set on getting all the Steam achievements. However, I honestly don’t think that it needs to. It’s an overall enjoyable, engaging, and ultimately fun game that’s plenty satisfying on one playthrough.

Personally, I think this approach might almost have more to offer than hugely sprawling games that almost seem to run with no clear end in sight. Such games tend to expect you to play them all over again just so you can “finish” the game “properly”. Don’t get me wrong: I love a good sandbox when I’m in the mood for one, but I also like to not feel totally overwhelmed with more side quests and cutscenes than I can possibly have time for in an average month. I like to get up and make lunch, and not sell my soul to an AAA video game, and … well. Video games are too long, Jason Schreier. I agree. There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension is not. Grab your mouse and have some fun.

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There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension

$10.95 USD

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• Strong, topical satire
• Enjoyable narrative and voice acting
• Solid balance between fun and social commentary
• Puzzles are creative and varied without feeling punishing

Cons

• Eye strain in some graphics
• Pace drags at times
• Some timed challenges are a bit too finicky