I heard about this game back when it was still called Ari Buktu and the Anytime Elevator, which feels like forever ago but might have only been a year or two back. I found out it was finally released when I saw that I could submit for a chance at a review key. Well, I got it, I played it, and this game is pretty good!

There are dozens and dozens of platformers out there that attempt to play off of nostalgia for PS2 era games. Lifted is similar in that many of the escape sequences and platforming challenges feel like something straight out of Donkey Kong Country or the side-scrolling segments of Crash Bandicoot. But the actual tone and vibe of the characters, world, and narrative feel less inspired by the games of the 90s and 2000s, but the movies and TV of that era instead, and that is what really makes this game feel special.

The gameplay is pretty basic, but appropriately so. You’ll be jumping, swinging, grappling, and pushing around objects to traverse platforming challenges and some light puzzles here and there. Most of these obstacles are frictionless, which allows the lighthearted tone to thrive, but every now and then, you’ll be challenged in a way that feels slightly harsher than the breezy tone calls for. Checkpoints are generous, but when you have to respawn for the 10th time because you mistimed a jump, you might start getting a little annoyed. But those parts are few and far between, as the game feels designed to be approachable to anyone even slightly familiar with platformers, it’s just some moments make the steps necessary to progress just slightly obscure. Gameplay wise, think Limbo or Inside more than Super Meat Boy. The game feels like it’s designed to highlight its visuals and art, but there are plenty of times where your skills will be tested.

Speaking of the art and visuals, this game is a looker, but in a way that may be slightly unconventional. I wouldn’t say the game looks unbelievable in terms of fidelity, as some effects, like snow, look soft and artificial in the same way effects in Media Molecule’s Dreams do. But the bright colors and simple shapes of characters and environments give the game a clean look that fits the childlike whimsy on display. Even the incredibly strong score and well directed cutscenes add to the feeling that the game is a slightly higher production episode of your favorite Saturday morning cartoon, like a Jimmy Timmy Power Hour or something. It’s pretty neat!

You play as the aforementioned teenager, Ari Buktu, and alongside a goofy Professor and his pet chinchilla, you travel through time in search of adventure and a mysterious mcguffin. If it sounds like Back to the Future, that’s because it effectively is, just a bit sillier. There are plenty of repeated gags, like the professor always finding a less treacherous path to use than the player, or the fact that everyone mistakes the Professor’s chinchilla for a different animal, and they all add even more to the charm of the characters. The ending even has a twist that corrupts the events of the rest of the game, but does so in a predictably sweet way. The ending is reflective of how the game overall is full of familiar charm and endearment that should feel derivative, but manages not to due to how sincere it comes off.

You can play a bunch of lighthearted, 2D platformers like this, and I’ve even talked up a few in the past, but the extra level of polish here makes the game feel like a step above its contemporaries in the indie scene. It’s simple fun that respects your time, yet has enough collectables to explore to easily double the 3 hour playtime. However, despite the polish and fun tone, the cliche-filled story and willingness to stick with some outdated, though harmless, tropes of the genre makes the game feel as much like an underrated classic of the PlayStation 2 than a relative relic of the modern era. It’s a title that feels modest, and that makes it easier to love and recommend in the current gaming landscape of so many titles that insecurely insist on their worthiness of your time with inflated amounts of content. If you want some cute, fun and bite sized nostalgia, you could do a whole lot worse than this.