The final game in the :the game: trilogy, and somehow, despite being more hilariously dated, it's also probably the easiest one to go back to just because it goes all-in on being topical for 2011 and not all THAT edgy.
For one, this actually has a focus on gameplay! Yes! In the series called :the game:, actual physical gameplay has been woefully absent UNTIL THIS VERY MOMENT, where there's a bunch of wacky Super Mario Galaxy-esque wall/ceiling walking shenanigans. We'd like to compliment a good few levels for making good use of literally just this aspect--namely the Super Meat Boy parody that features the infamous Lady Gaga Meat Dress (it's a :the game: game, just roll with it) and the Rainbow level. In addition to the funni gravity, though, there's a few other things like straight up Portal 2 gels(!!!) and a few gimmicks like the oil stage and also the Lost Smoke Monster Form™ that exploit the HELL out of the momentum engine. We're honestly shocked that a flash game can even HAVE the momentum and gravity mechanics this game has--it makes us kinda wish this was tied to a game less 2011!
For two, though, uh, there's a quantity of levels we enjoy that's larger than one AND two here. While the "going all-in on being topical" thing definitely results in a few comically dated jokes (like, you can't get more 2011 than a parody of Lost the TV show blended with a parody of Tik Tok the song, and who actually cares about Farmville in 2024???), it also--paradoxically--makes the game feel a lot LESS dated than stuff like how abrasively edgy :the game: is, or how aggressively 2010s politics :replaying the game: is. In fact, we'd argue the Toy Story 3 level is probably funnier with a Toy Story 5 on the horizon. And that oil level... Honestly, a really fun use of momentum? Again, we wish somebody took note of this game's use of physics.
It isn't ALL bangers, admittedly, as some of the levels are still pretty nothing overall, or have aged worse than others. Most of them being in the middle third of the game, oddly enough... Cough cough comic book movies being just a glorified tutorial for the level immediately after it, and also WOW that TSA and Wikileaks level sure did happen after Osama Bin Laden died and during the last gasp of the internet treating Rape like it's a disturbingly ordinary word! And then there's the YouTube level, which, uh, yeah, that sure is a (THANKFULLY TURBO-CENSORED BY THE GAME ITSELF) reference to a slur in one of the comments and also a Bed Intruder reference, followed by kinda just a worse rendition of the Facebook level. Definitely ending the last third on a bit of a downer.
...And it's funny we say that, but uh, the ACTUAL finale level is definitely the highlight overall. It's kinda funny to say "We really felt like we were being tested on my knowledge of the video game during the final level" as if that's like, a surprise, and not a normal thing that normal video games do. And also the punchline at the end is extremely good, honestly. We think more platformer games should have boss fights that test your platforming more than your combat prowess, honestly???
In a sense, we feel like this game is totally unaware of how good its underlying engine is. Like, if this game was open sourced, you'd probably learn about it really fast because someone would make just a REALLY solid momentum-based gravity-swapping platformer with it, and then be really baffled when you're told how it came to be. It's a game we feel like it's far more fun to PLAY it than it is to bear witness to it, y'know? And for that, we think we have to give it credit.
...Also, you know we're deranged because we sometimes just hum this game's main theme to ourselves. In fairness, it's a good melody.
For one, this actually has a focus on gameplay! Yes! In the series called :the game:, actual physical gameplay has been woefully absent UNTIL THIS VERY MOMENT, where there's a bunch of wacky Super Mario Galaxy-esque wall/ceiling walking shenanigans. We'd like to compliment a good few levels for making good use of literally just this aspect--namely the Super Meat Boy parody that features the infamous Lady Gaga Meat Dress (it's a :the game: game, just roll with it) and the Rainbow level. In addition to the funni gravity, though, there's a few other things like straight up Portal 2 gels(!!!) and a few gimmicks like the oil stage and also the Lost Smoke Monster Form™ that exploit the HELL out of the momentum engine. We're honestly shocked that a flash game can even HAVE the momentum and gravity mechanics this game has--it makes us kinda wish this was tied to a game less 2011!
For two, though, uh, there's a quantity of levels we enjoy that's larger than one AND two here. While the "going all-in on being topical" thing definitely results in a few comically dated jokes (like, you can't get more 2011 than a parody of Lost the TV show blended with a parody of Tik Tok the song, and who actually cares about Farmville in 2024???), it also--paradoxically--makes the game feel a lot LESS dated than stuff like how abrasively edgy :the game: is, or how aggressively 2010s politics :replaying the game: is. In fact, we'd argue the Toy Story 3 level is probably funnier with a Toy Story 5 on the horizon. And that oil level... Honestly, a really fun use of momentum? Again, we wish somebody took note of this game's use of physics.
It isn't ALL bangers, admittedly, as some of the levels are still pretty nothing overall, or have aged worse than others. Most of them being in the middle third of the game, oddly enough... Cough cough comic book movies being just a glorified tutorial for the level immediately after it, and also WOW that TSA and Wikileaks level sure did happen after Osama Bin Laden died and during the last gasp of the internet treating Rape like it's a disturbingly ordinary word! And then there's the YouTube level, which, uh, yeah, that sure is a (THANKFULLY TURBO-CENSORED BY THE GAME ITSELF) reference to a slur in one of the comments and also a Bed Intruder reference, followed by kinda just a worse rendition of the Facebook level. Definitely ending the last third on a bit of a downer.
...And it's funny we say that, but uh, the ACTUAL finale level is definitely the highlight overall. It's kinda funny to say "We really felt like we were being tested on my knowledge of the video game during the final level" as if that's like, a surprise, and not a normal thing that normal video games do. And also the punchline at the end is extremely good, honestly. We think more platformer games should have boss fights that test your platforming more than your combat prowess, honestly???
In a sense, we feel like this game is totally unaware of how good its underlying engine is. Like, if this game was open sourced, you'd probably learn about it really fast because someone would make just a REALLY solid momentum-based gravity-swapping platformer with it, and then be really baffled when you're told how it came to be. It's a game we feel like it's far more fun to PLAY it than it is to bear witness to it, y'know? And for that, we think we have to give it credit.
...Also, you know we're deranged because we sometimes just hum this game's main theme to ourselves. In fairness, it's a good melody.
This is my favorite series of flash games and this entry is my favorite one in the trilogy. I really recommend these if you like dark humor and real world commentary.
Encapsulates the sheer madness of the then burgeoning internet era. A better time.