The original Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy was released back in 2017 and has now been recently released as Getting Over It+, as part of the Apple Arcade subscription.
The premise of Getting Over It+ is simple: you control a man stuck in a cauldron who must climb a mountain using only a large hammer to propel himself. The controls are straightforward, but the gameplay is anything but. You move the hammer by swiping around the touchscreen, and you can use it to swing, push, or pull yourself up the mountain full of random objects that don't make any sense.
The game is designed to be extremely challenging, and it is not for the faint of heart. The mountain is full of intentionally frustrating obstacles, such as steep cliffs, narrow ledges, and blockades, which require precise movements and timing to navigate. One misstep can send you tumbling back down to the bottom, and there are no checkpoints or save points to help you out, resetting your progress back to where you fell into.
The controls are simple on paper and only require either hand, but very hard and highly fallible when it comes to climbing the mountain. You just move the hammer around your character in a 360 degree circle of varying degrees of reach, hitting the ground or any obstacle to push yourself against it; or you can cling or hook the hammer around higher elements to swing your character around.
The difficulty of the game is what makes it so addictive — up until you reach your limits to try again another day. There is a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that comes with overcoming a particularly challenging section of the mountain. You will find yourself constantly pushing to reach the top, no matter how many times you fall. Especially if you start to master its physics-based mechanics.
The mountain you must climb is treacherous, with obstacles that seem almost impossible to surmount. Every time you just beat a difficult challenge, another one will test your skills even further and it’s a testament to the game’s design that it never feels unfair, because it definitely feels doable and within reach.
Getting Over It+ is a game that is not for everyone due to its highly frustrating and punishing difficulty, but is highly recommended for players who enjoy difficult games and are looking for a new challenge. If you’re also looking for a game to challenge your friends with and to ultimately mess around with, then this is something you and your friends can consider playing.