Ari Buktu and the Anytime Elevator Demo [Impressions]
Former Disney ride designer debuts demo for 2.5D platformer Ari Buktu and the Anytime Elevator as part of Steam Next Fest.
Ari Buktu and the Anytime Elevator. Credit: Adventure Works
A demo for Ari Buktu and the Anytime Elevator was released as part of Steam Next Fest. It’s a 2.5D adventure platformer by a former Disney ride designer, a light comedy about a student who goes on a time-traveling adventure with his professor.
From the developer:
Ari Buktu and the Anytime Elevator is a fun-filled story-led adventure inspired by mid-2000s platforming games and classic action-adventure films, coming soon to PC. Run, jump and swing through 13 levels across 6 unique environments, from a lush pirate island to the icy Dolomites, to meet with a crew of eccentric characters and face exciting challenges.
Ari Buktu and the Anytime Elevator. Credit: Adventure Works
The platforming action was decent, but not without frustration. The game often uses platforms as thin as a single wooden plank that require a little too much precision. Ari will grab ledges when you hit the side of a platform and pull himself up, but the platforms should never be that thin. However, the 2.5D level design was clever, moving the camera to weave the 2D game plane in the 3D scene in a way that creates a lot of visual depth.
The game has a climbing mechanic in which you must time your directional button presses to move from handhold to handhold. There is no penalty for missing the timing other than climbing more slowly. The need for timing to speed up climbing is unnecessary and doesn’t add anything to the game.
Ari Buktu and the Anytime Elevator. Credit: Adventure Works
The demo ends with a fun mine cart sequence. It was my favorite part of Ari Buktu, and I hope the full game has more action setpieces like it.
The cutscenes were too lengthy, though perhaps they’d be fine for a younger target audience. That audience would also not likely be familiar with Back to the Future, from which Ari Buktu draws heavily with its time travel story and characters. Ari and the professor are less compelling, not at all subtle riffs on Marty McFly and Doc Brown. The game’s score could have easily been composed by Alan Silvestri and is clearly inspired by his score for Back to the Future and music from other 1980s adventure films.
Ari Buktu and the Anytime Elevator. Credit: Adventure Works
I’m not fond of the character designs in the game. The characters have floating, neckless heads and torsos with detached hands and feet. Facial expressions and mouth movements were too stiff, rendered as barely animated textures drawn on the characters’ faces.
Ari Buktu and the Anytime Elevator shows some promise. I hope that by the full game’s release, the platforming and other elements will be a little more polished. I found the game less appealing than I expected, likely because I’m not in the target age range for it.
Check out the demo for Ari Buktu and the Anytime Elevator on Steam. A release date has yet to be announced.
