‘Getting Over It’ is a fairly straightforward game. You are a man in a pot. You have a sledgehammer, and a mountain of rocks and junk to scale using the aforementioned hammer. Why are you in the pot? To protect your legs of course! Why are you scaling the mountain? Quite obviously to get over it.
Made by QWOP creator Bennett Foddy (as the ever so subtle hint might have suggested), the game is a homage to an older game called Sexy Hiking, that has a similar premise. It’s a physics-based game and is incredibly unforgiving.
You must climb using the mouse or trackpad to control the sledgehammer, with the ever-present threat of falling and losing all progress. There are no checkpoints, with any progress or failure being saved immediately. Throughout the game, there is commentary by Foddy, as he talks a bit about sexy hiking, media in the present world, and other philosophical topics. Additionally, depending on your progress or failure, he occasionally provides some suggestions.
The game was initially released via Humble Bundle, with it now being on the Steam store for the PC, and has gained a large following, with many Twitch streamers playing it on their streams. The game costs Rs. 299 in India, and has no extra content.
So, what’s the game like? Well…
Initially, the hammer handles like a half-boiled chair (that is to say, it’s a load of nonsense). Then you get the hang of it. You start making some progress, slowly but surely. You learn how to push yourself off the ground, how to pull yourself up, how to grip certain holds. You think you’ve got it, that you can get past the obstacles. Then you make a mistake, fall all the way to the beginning, and throw your monitor out of the window.
You think you’re not the only one? There must be others, right? So, you go to Youtube, and see that someone has beaten the game in under two minutes. In fact, there’s a video of Foddy himself playing it and making decent progress.
A darkness descends upon you. You realise just how truly insignificant you are compared to the mountain; to the world. How could you possibly have such trouble with a simple task such as this? You seek refuge in isolation. You shirk human company in your shame. You have been beaten by such a simple game. You do not deserve to walk amongst others.
*****
No.
You will not allow the game to win. You will defeat it. You will earn your place amongst those of your race, as is your right!
You start to spend hour after hour, night after night, week after week, climbing the mountain. You feel your skills develop, you see yourself getting better. You know every pixel of the mountain. You grow closer and closer to the end. Finally, you see it.
The radio tower. There it is, your final challenge. You carefully climb it, surprised at how easy it is compared to the other obstacles. Finally, you reach the end. You finish the game and receive your prize.
You’ve done it. You have conquered the mountain and thus have truly proven yourself. You go back to the browser, where the list of Youtube videos is still open.
You smile, remembering your anguish, and are filled with pride at your achievement. Then, a video catches your eye. For some reason, the player’s pot is… golden? How did that happen? You check the comments, and there you see it.
“By the way, since so many of you are asking, you get the golden pot by beating the game fifty times. Since I was bored, I decided to earn it. Nothing much tbh, fairly easy.”
Edited by Vedika Gupta
Images curated by Sanjna Mishra