Only Up! is a 2023 indie platformer video game developed and published by SCKR Games. The game released on Steam on May 24, 2023,[a] and features similar gameplay to difficult climbing games such as Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy and Jump King, albeit in a three-dimensional space.
| Only Up! | |
|---|---|
 Cover art | |
| Developer(s) | SCKR Games |
| Publisher(s) | SCKR Games |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 5 |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release | May 24, 2023 |
| Genre(s) | Platformer |
Only Up! received a mixed reception, being praised for its difficulty but criticized for its poor optimization. The game was featured on the livestreaming service's Twitch and Kick, becoming one of the most popular games streamed on the platform shortly after its release. Only Up! was removed from Steam on June 30, 2023, due to the use of copyrighted assets, but returned one day later with the infringing assets removed. It was removed from Steam again by its creator on September 7, 2023.
Gameplay and premise Edit
In Only Up!, the game starts off in a junkyard, where main character Jackie—who is controlled by the player in a third-person perspective and inspired by the folktale "Jack and the Beanstalk"[1][2][3]—must run, climb, jump, and vault through a series of assorted objects and platforms in order to escape poverty.[4][1] The player must reach space for Jackie to discover what life he could have had. Around the map, there are beds that can be used as trampolines to skip major portions of the obstacle course. The player may slow down time to control the character's movements.[5] There are no checkpoints throughout the entirety of the game, meaning that the player cannot save their progress.[6]
Development Edit
Only Up! was developed by SCKR Games, and very little is known about the studio that produced the game. On June 15, 2023, SCKR Games released an update that added features to control the camera. This gave the player the ability to alternate between first- and third-person perspectives and to shift and center the camera by pressing the C key on their keyboard.[7]
Removal from Steam Edit
Only Up! was removed from Steam on June 30, 2023, after numerous copyright violations associated with the game's assets were found.[8] One 3D model, a statue of a giant girl, that appeared in the game was made by artist Aboulicious and titled "Blanket In The Wind". The model was non-commercially licensed and originated from the website Sketchfab.[9][10] Other media were present, including sound effects from Final Fantasy VII and Minecraft. Subsequently, SCKR Games released an update and removed all instances of said copyrighted material, later relaunching Only Up! on July 1.[11][12] The model was later replaced by a statue of Atlas.
On September 7, 2023, Only Up! was removed from Steam again, this time by the creator due to the amount of stress it had on them.[13][14]
Promotions of non-fungible tokens Edit
In October 2021, all blockchain games that buy and sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs) were officially banned from Steam.[15] President and co-founder of Valve Corporation, Gabe Newell, criticized cryptocurrencies as "fraudulent" and said there would be confusion on how much a customer was paying for a game.[16] Only Up! advertised artwork from the Goblintown NFT series, placing images on the main character's shirt and artwork found across the map.[17][12][18]
Release Edit
On Steam, the game had a 30% discount in the Steam Summer Sale.[11] Upon releasing on May 24, 2023, Only Up! gained popularity in China and Japan,[19][20] where many VTubers from there played it.[5] Many content creators throughout Spain featured the game, which added up to 250,000 views on Twitch.[21] In June 2023, Only Up! had a total of 85,000 viewers on Twitch and was the sixth most popular game.[4] Several livesteamers and speedrunners have rage quit due to the frustration of falling down and losing all their progress from the absence of a save system.[19][20]
Reception and legacy Edit
Critics felt that Only Up!'s controls and overall design were unpolished. Automaton Media stated that the skybox made the game "sluggish" and "poorly optimized for PC" with default settings;[5] however, Try Hard Guides noted that the graphics setting was set to maximum on launch.[22]
For its gameplay, critics praised the variety presented by the obstacles and how the game's overall layout made paths "clear" for players, but were mixed on the lack of checkpoints.[22] Gamereactor stated Only Up! was "thrilling, nail biting, and frustrating" without any save systems or checkpoints,[23] while Automaton Media considered it the "perfect difficulty to enjoy watching a stream."[7] TechRadar felt that when a player fell down, losing all their progress, they would be "irrationally angry", but would later learn a "very harsh lesson".[24]
OnlyUp Fortnite Edit
OnlyUp Fortnite is a custom Fortnite map created in the Unreal Engine by a user known as ARMY. The adaptation shares most gameplay aspects with its predecessor while adding Fortnite references from Chapter 1.[25] With eight times the player count of the original Only Up!, the Fortnite version had over 100,000 players in early July.[26]
See also Edit
Notes Edit
- ^ According to the Steam page, the game released on that specific day, but numerous sources have written that the game either released the day before or the day after.
References Edit
- ^ Jump up to: a b Jarvis, Matt (June 26, 2023). "Only Up, a 3D Getting Over It-a-like inspired by Jack and the Beanstalk, is the latest indie sensation to blow up on Twitch". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on July 4, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
- ^ Fischer, Tyler (June 30, 2023). "Only Up! Back on Steam After Being Mysteriously Removed". ComicBook. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
- ^ Nelva, Giuseppe (June 30, 2023). "Popular Indie Game Only Up! Suddenly Removed From Steam [UPDATED]". TechRaptor. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Ostler, Anne-Marie (June 27, 2023). "This punishing climbing game is Twitch's latest masochist craze". GamesRadar+. Yahoo Finance. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Kawase, Ayuo (June 15, 2023). "Frustrating climbing game Only Up! grows popular among Japanese streamers". Automaton Media. Translated by Marco Farinaccia. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
- ^ Roy, Icon (June 27, 2023). "Steam: Only Up! Why is it Trending on Twitter?". SpielTimes. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Vjestica, Amber (June 19, 2023). "Only up! update makes game less maddening. But why are users protesting?". Automaton Media. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- ^ Mallow, Max (June 30, 2023). "When is Only Up Coming Back to Steam?". AppTrigger. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
- ^ Shepard, Kenneth (July 3, 2023). "Only Up! Pulled From Steam After Becoming A Twitch Sensation [Update]". Kotaku. Archived from the original on July 22, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
- ^ "Blanket In The Wind". Sketchfab. November 29, 2016. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Brandrick, Chris (July 1, 2023). "Hit game Only Up! was briefly removed from Steam, now back". Overkill. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Wilde, Tyler (July 1, 2023). "Only Up! pulled from Steam, developer says it'll be back (update: and now it is back)". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
- ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (September 8, 2023). "Viral Hit Only Up! Pulled From Steam by Creator Due to 'Stress'". IGN. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
- ^ "Twitch Sensation Only Up! Removed From Steam So Dev Can Find 'Peace Of Mind And Healing'". Kotaku. September 8, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
- ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (October 16, 2021). "Valve bans blockchain, crypto and NFT games from Steam, but Epic is on-board". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
- ^ Robinson, Martin (February 25, 2022). "Gabe Newell explains why Steam banned NFTs". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on September 24, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
- ^ Brandt, Oliver (July 4, 2023). "Only Up: Everything you need to know about the latest hit game on Twitch". Video Games on Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
- ^ Chalk, Andy (June 21, 2023). "Twitch's new sensation is a weird indie climbing game that's also quietly promoting NFTs". PCGamer. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Brusie, Chaunie (June 30, 2023). "What is Only Up? Frustrating Climbing Game is Causing Twitch Streamers to 'Rage Quit'". In The Know. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Marshall, Cass (June 26, 2023). "What is Only Up!, the climbing game blowing up on social media?". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
- ^ Meeks, Randy (July 12, 2023). "Only Up: The Indie Game that Ibai, Rubius, and Other Influencers Have Turned into a Phenomenon". Softonic. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
All the Spanish streamers have played it, from Ibai to Rubius, and even TheGrefg.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Harrison, Christian (June 30, 2023). "Only Up! review – The journey of 10,000 steps". Try Hard Guides. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
- ^ Lyons, Ben (July 13, 2023). "Only Up!". GameReactor. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
- ^ Gould, Elie (July 13, 2023). "Only Up! Is a terrifying endeavor that left me dizzy, sick, and wanting more". TechRadar. Archived from the original on July 25, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
- ^ Ganguly, Sharmila (June 23, 2023). "Fortnite Only Up map code: How to play the viral hit in Fortnite?". Dot eSports. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
- ^ Zwiezen, Zack (July 7, 2023). "Fortnite's Only Up! User Map Is Now Way Bigger Than The Original Game". Kotaku. Archived from the original on July 27, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.