A janky however brutal platformer, Solely Up! blew up this Might after changing into a sensational hit with Twitch viewers. It’s one in every of 2023’s most viral Steam video games thus far. Nevertheless, in a stunning and abrupt determination, the developer has eliminated the sport from Steam, with no plans for it to return to the platform. In a put up, the solo developer behind Solely Up! said that this was their first foray into making a recreation, and now they need to say goodbye to it.
The Reputation Behind Solely Up!
Solely Up! launched in Might 2023, providing a third-person platforming expertise akin to the title Getting Over It with Bennet Foddy. The sport’s reputation didn’t peak till properly after its launch, because the indie closely relied on phrase of mouth to succeed in its viewers.
Because of its difficult nature, Solely Up! received its huge break when Twitch streamers like IShowSpeed, identified for taking part in high-difficulty video games began noticing it, in the end resulting in a viral gross sales interval. The parkour recreation hit over 90,000 viewers on Twitch and 10,000 concurrency gamers in June. Nevertheless, Solely Up’s reputation declined considerably following its peak in July.
Solely Up! had a ‘Principally Optimistic’ overview rating after getting 12,000 person evaluations, with some gamers praising its capricious 3D platforming. Nonetheless, a substantial chunk of destructive evaluations critiqued its glitchy physics and hasty designs. Contemplating that Solely Up! was faraway from Steam for allegedly stealing belongings from different video games beforehand, the title additionally gained notoriety for being a recreation that appeared prefer it was put collectively by slapping already-existing belongings collectively. Let’s not neglect that it marketed NFTs, too, with photos of Goblintown tokens showing on sure ranges.
“Peace of Thoughts and Therapeutic”
Indiesolodev, the brains behind Solely Up!, wrote within the recreation’s Steam neighborhood that the title has stored him beneath quite a lot of stress for the previous few months since Solely Up! was launched, and now they need to put the sport behind them. He additionally said that what he wants now could be “pealing of thoughts and therapeutic,” and he plans to take a pause to additional his schooling on recreation design.
With new data and experiences, Indiesolodev is prioritizing his sophomore challenge, “Kith.” He describes it as a very totally different recreation from Solely Up!, highlighting cinematography. We’re not fully positive what meaning till we see extra footage. Nonetheless, Indiesolodev desires it to be created by a small staff slightly than being a solo factor once more to stop the stress of working as a solo operator.
Regardless of Its Sudden Disappearance, Solely Up! Raked In Hundreds of thousands
Gamers are already mourning the lack of the sport’s surprising disappearance. Presently, Solely Up! has already been delisted from Steam, however its person evaluations stay. Regardless of its controversy, although, Solely Up! was a large success. It was priced at $6, and through its comparatively brief time on the most important gaming storefront for PC platforms, it raked in round $2.6 million in gross income alone.
Will You Lose the Sport If You Personal It?
For those who have purchased Solely Up! Earlier than the Steam itemizing has been torn down, there’s no want to stress—you gained’t lose your buy of it since there’s no indication of Steam possession being rescinded. Solely Up! will solely be unavailable for individuals who don’t have or need to purchase the sport proper now. Gamers will outdated purchases of Solely Up! and can proceed to have it of their libraries, obtainable to play and obtain anytime.