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A Game About Flicking A Switch

A Game About Flicking A Switch

by Barry Knoll

★ 73%
Price $1.99
Avg Players 0
Reviews 71
Released Feb 13, 2024
CasualControllerFirst-PersonIdler
View on Steam ↗

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A minimalist comedy game about repeatedly flicking a wall switch, designed to subvert expectations of what constitutes a game. The humor relies on breaking the fourth wall and direct interaction with the player, making it an intentional troll title in Steam's experimental catalog. Best suited for players who appreciate absurdist game design and don't mind a short, joke-based experience.

About this game

What players are saying

▲ Recommended 1 hrs
Alright. A Game About Flicking A Switch is done and dusted. This is another in the fine tradition of troll games on Steam, where breaking the Fourth Wall and engaging directly with the player is the focal point; the very thing that makes this game both hilarious and awesome.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3535440156

Everything is triggered by....you guessed it...flicking switches. As you progress, the game will continue to mess with you and attempt to get you to quit playing the game, lol. However, the level design and the sequence of events is actually very well thought out and a joy to behold, and so the game is destined to fail in its attempt to provoke you into rage quitting. The variety of different levels and challenges was quite impressive. Most noteworthy was the dark level, which, if you don't uncover the secret to, will actually put you in a position where the only solution is to quit and come back to try again. Except, in order to restart the game from the beginning, you actually need to delete your save file (or select a specific switch at one point in the game). Otherwise, you always re-enter the game where you left off. And so, I would like to share a bit of vague advice regarding the dark level. Don't just go traipsing about. Be thorough when entering that level and try to find the one secret that makes the level doable.

There are a fair few achievements in the game. Most are triggered by static events, but some are also triggered randomly. Some will require multiple playthroughs in order to select divergent options available at a couple moments in the game. In keeping with the spirit of the game, the achievements also are messages designed to be read at that moment in the game and tie directly into the story such as it is.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3535440078

Although gameplay is centered around flicking switches, there are actually a few very interesting puzzles to be solved in order to progress. Where you find notes, take those notes literally, would be my advice. The puzzle design was pretty clever in my estimation. And there are a decent number of unique areas to explore as well. Which also tie into the story. I really enjoyed a sequence towards the end where you can actually take a look at these levels again, but from the perspective of a guest rather than the protagonist. That was a cool addition to the game.

The audio is also tied to certain achievements, and you will want to actually be listening while playing this game. There is a particular piano piece that is tied to two achievements and is simply an excellent listen. Or not. Depending on your musical preferences, lol. Visually, one of the areas in particular is quite the feat for the eyes, but everything in general looks really cool. Even the most generic closet with a switch is actually visually effective.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3535439989

I bought this for like 59 cents during a recent sale, but actually, you will get your $1.99 out of it if you decide not to wait for a sale. I had a good time with this game. There were a fair few laughs, some solid puzzles, and it was a very cohesive experience in general. Worth a look for sure.

If you found this review helpful and would be interested in supporting my Curator group, Robilar's Reviews, it would be appreciated. Cheers.

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32 found helpful Steam ↗
▲ Recommended 0 hrs
does what it says on the tin. my switch flicking urges have been satisfied.
16 found helpful Steam ↗
▲ Recommended 15 hrs
Update: the dev has provided some good info, and will be working on both issues I've listed below. I'm updating my review to a Recommended

If you don't care about getting all the achievements and/or finishing the game, and just want a quick laugh, get the game! Otherwise, read on:

I *really* want to give this game a positive review. It's so close. I love the humor and the feel. But there are two huge issues:
1. I'm using a GTX 1080. So not the newest of cards, but I can run plenty of games just fine. But I only get 20-50 frames most the time, even when running in 1080p and lowest graphic settings. And then on the last room, frames drop like crazy, to 10, 5, or even 2 fps. Considering you need to click tens of thousands of times in the last room, this is actually a huge deal.
2. After I got through the whole game except for 2 achievements, my game crashed and then I got stuck in a loop where it reset my progress, and then I couldn't get past the first flick. It'll run the credits, and then reset my progress. So I'm stuck.
11 found helpful Steam ↗

Reviews are by Steam users, hosted on Steam.

Latest updates

Information on Future Updates.

347 days ago
To all current and future players,It is with frustration that I must inform you the development files, as well as the hard drive holding all development work for this game, have been corrupted. As of right now, all future work on the game will be halted indefinitely - as possible solutions are tested.That being said, for those of you who currently have the game, and are still having issues unlocking a particular achievement, that achievement has been removed from the Steam page - this should solve any completionist problems.Thank you again for taking the time to play this game. I hope you all well.- The Dev

UPDATE.

763 days ago
In this files update, performance has been the main focus. As many of you will notice, the overall file size is drastically smaller than before. This is mainly in part due to the latter portion of the game being removed and fully replaced with a new ending. Also, some minor, but reoccurring bugs have been addressed. Bug fixes: 1. In some instances, players may get to the "dark level" and upon flicking the light switch, the backlights come on, but the main overhead light does not appear. This has been addressed, now both sets of lights will come on, and stay on if the player chooses to close the game out whilst in this level. 2. Frame rate drops in the Opera House should not occur for moderate to higher end GPU's. The overall performance of the level has been improved, as well as most excess asset data been removed. Work on this level will continue over the coming weeks. 3. Progressive decline in performance. It has been noted that the player may see an overall slowdown of their computer system as they continue to play the game. Unfortunately, this issue could not be replicated; but a possible solution has been found. (part 4). 4. The "Endgame" has consistently provided problems for the developer and players. After extensive reworkings of the levels on a number of occasions, it has been decided to completely remove the levels and their data files from the game to focus on longevity with performance of the game. This seems to have created an overall boost in performance across all levels. So, for some reason unknown to me, it looks as though even in times when the data files were not in use from certain assets, they were being rendered in the background, leading to an overall decline in performance. So, in turn, complete removal of these files should solve the progressive decline issue. 5. Two achievements have been edited. One, occurred at a point it was not meant to (Achievement 28). The second, and more notably, is the "final" achievement (Achievement 11). This was...

Letter to the players

811 days ago
As another successful sales period is coming to an end, I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who have chosen to spend some of your time playing this game. I made this game as a test-run for game development, with zero experience prior to the matter. For those of you who played the game closer to the initial launch, you may clearly remember the rough, bug-filled, start this game had. With consistent feedback from you, the players, the game has been patched out into what it was originally designed to be. So, thank you all for your extensive feedback, and for your time. I hope you have enjoyed yourselves and thank you all so much again. - The Dev

Posts come from Steam's official announcements feed.

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