Which Way Up: Space Olympics is a multiplayer party platform game with the hook being that you have to contend with gravity pulling platforming and space themed obstacles trying to hinder you from completing mini games against your friends and family.
As with all good online multiplayer games, Which Way Up: Space Olympics comes with a selection of cute characters to play as, with some great designs on offer. You have the choice of five from the seven that will appear in the full game, with my thirteen year old son (who was my opponent during our play sessions) really enjoying the different designs on offer. He had a soft spot for Maggie, a blue and red sprite with a magnet as a head, while I chose the cool looking Prism, named for having a prism frame surrounding its head. Each comes with a small back story to explain their talents, but it was unclear whether they offered any advantage during gameplay. We certainly did not notice any during our play time.
Overall, the full game will include fifteen mini games, with the demo offering six of those. We found each one interesting and fun, as each was simple and easy to understand. The games ranged from trying to escape the pull of a black hole to trying to steal constellations from your opposing player. I can see these appealing to kids and adults alike, especially families consisting of small children. Here’s a quick rundown of each game included in the demo:
Event Horizon: Escape the pull of a black hole by platforming over space rocks to evade death, but don’t get too close to your opponent, as they can slow you down and gain an advantage.
Constellation Catch: The aim here is to capture as many stars as possible. Once you touch a star, it turns into a constellation, but watch what your opponent is doing, as if they touch one of yours, it will become theirs. The player with the most when the time runs out wins.
Gravapult: Lob bombs at your opponent’s planets and try to protect yours from their bombs. You can pick up your opponents’ bombs and throw them onto their planets. The player with the most damage loses this one.
Star Ring: Chase the ring of stars as it floats around the galaxy. The aim is to stay in the ring to gain as much star power as you can, with the first player to fill their bar winning.
Overlord: One player has been infected with unstable energy, and the aim is to pass this on to your opponent. The player who is infected when the time ends is the loser
Comet Collect: Collect comets by keeping your opponent away with your competition push. The player with the most at the end of the time limit is the winner.
Turtle Flip Studios has implemented the gravity mechanic perfectly here; during my playthroughs, I was never taken out of the game by bad mechanics or it just not working. Every jump felt good, and the gravitational pull was enough to mostly work in my favour and sometimes just be a hindrance, sucking me back to the original platform I jumped from. The developers state Super Mario Galaxy as an influence and credit them, as you can really see and feel it.
I appreciate the effort put into trying to make the space rocks you use for platforming on more appealing than just pieces of floating rocks, but I feel they need more than just being different colours and basic shapes. I’m not sure what it needs, maybe more extravagant shapes or colours might help but they do seem to be the element that doesn’t fit quite right with the rest of the game. Hopefully we will see some improvement in this area as the game progresses.
My son and I had a fun time with Which Way Up: Space Olympics. He seemed to really enjoy the mini games on offer and was letting out some impressive giggles as he continued to wipe the floor with me. I also had a good time considering the beating I was taking, and the game is showing a tonne of potential. I’m looking forward to seeing how the game progresses during its development, as we still have some time before its official release date of Q1 2025. They have stated that a single-player challenge mode, online play, additional languages, and the possibility of other platforms are all planned for the game before its full release.
You can get a taste of the game yourself by grabbing the demo that is now available on Steam. So I suggest you get that downloaded, gather up to four people either locally or through remote play, and see for yourself if you can be the champion of the Space Olympics.
Find and download the demo on Steam here: https://t.co/vvNZow188J