MainFrames is a puzzle platformer developed by Assoupi and published by The Arcade Crew and DotEmu. The game centers around the character Floppy, a living program with the appearance of a floppy disk who traverses through the monitor of a computer. There is no traditional story mode with cutscenes to the game; it’s primarily Floppy going through various platforms and browsers in order to discover their purpose within the MainFrame by interacting with different programs. To traverse this Digital plain Floppy must go through multiple obstacles and trials in order to discover his purpose otherwise who knows what might happen to him. 

In the world of MainFrame the desktop is Floppys playground. This daring program is on a journey through the digital landscape, solving puzzles and discovering secrets within the PC monitor.  There’s really not much to it as it is essentially just a platformer set within a PC monitor. Floppy needs to navigate through various application windows and avoid various firewalls as he makes his way to the various hidden pathways that can lead to other programs and elevators which can lead Floppy to completely different regions of the PC. Players can utilize different methods in order to navigate the PC from utilizing the mouse to drag application windows to wherever the player needs them to go, or using arrows which can boost the player towards a specific destination that can only be aimed by jumping on a gear prompt inorder to rotate them into the desired combination of commands that can lead them to where they want to go. 

After a while the platforming can become exceedingly more challenging, but what MainFrames offers for It’s platforming makes some of the most well-received platformers very special, and that variety in how the player can get from point A to point B. Not every platform within MainFrames is as impossible to get through as they make it seem, and sometimes it genuinely requires the player to simply take a minute to think over and test out strategies before eventually coming to a conclusion that can get them to where they need to go. The best part about this game is that if the player is unable to figure out a way to get past certain platforms then they can always double back and go through a different direction and they’ll still be able to make it to their destination because no matter what path is taken it eventually leads to their destination. 

 Where the game struggles mostly is incentivisation, and that’s not referring to any form of boons like gold Coins, trophies, or even deserts, but instead a narrative structure that incentivises the player to get more invested into the character and world that keeps the player coming back for more, instead of just relying on curiosity as to what gameplay mechanic challenge comes next. On one hand, being able to complete a difficult challenge is great for self-esteem and rewards a sense of accomplishment, but on the other hand, having a motivational reason as to why Floppy is going on this difficult journey and why we as players should want to see them succeed. Even though the through line is Floppy, figuring out their purpose in the grand scheme of the PC and the player can discover emails between the computer’s owner and the company they work for, it’s not structured in a way that makes the player want to completely invest their Time in the story, but instead the player’s attention will be more towards the puzzles themselves, which might not be a problem, but if players were expecting a platformer with gameplay and a story narrative, then those players might be disappointed. 

However, when it comes to the gameplay and the world of MainFrames, these are the areas that excel the most. The puzzles and platforms require a good amount of thinking behind them, and the obstacles, as stated earlier, are not impossible. The world of MainFrames is also extremely creative having it be set on the monitor of a PC and being able to traverse various applications through different traversal methods. 

Overall, Mainframes is a charming indie platformer with a unique setting and very well-developed platforming  despite its narrative shortcomings, it more than makes up for it with its fun and challenging gameplay.  Hopefully this game can gain traction and eventually this team can create even more innovative platformers because with the industry being the way it is and due to last year’s game of the year award going to a 3D platformer hopefully the genre both 2D and 3D can make a comeback. 

Overall Score: 8 out of 10

Reviewed On PC