PEAK Review (PC)

We’re scuffling up the third mountain, desperately trying to figure out how the last-remaining droplets of an energy drink and the remnants of a marshmallow will provide us with enough strength to ascend the last summit. With a final ascension to conquer, it seems as though the odds of reaching the PEAK are dwindling faster than the climbing spikes are depleting. At this rate, the four of us won’t make it. Combined, our stamina is staggeringly low, as are the flat terrains and manageable conditions. But there’s hope — or at least that’s what we’ve been led to believe. If we can scale up just a little further, then there’ll be rewards—an enormous sense of achievement, bragging rights, and a nifty badge to proudly display, to boot.

The four in-game biomes don’t pose too much of a threat. Well, that is so long as there’s a squadron of like-minded hikers who can work together efficiently and safely under the circumstances. There’s a lot of clambering and vaulting involved, and not to mention an immensely large amount of obstacles to overcome, with each distinct biome offering vastly different weather conditions, terrain, gear and supplies. And it’s for that reason alone that PEAK isn’t so much a solo endeavor as it is a joint venture. There is an option to hike this summit as a lone wolf, true — but it isn’t feasible, given that the game relies heavily upon teamwork and coordination to support its axis. It is an option nonetheless, albeit a rather daunting and lonesome one with many, many caveats.

As I said, we’re just a short hike out, and the peak is calling our names atop a beacon of light. We’re close, yet there’s still so much left to do before we claim the throne and eternal glory.

Take a Hike

PEAK is a four-player physics-based climbing game—a cartoon-like title in which your sole objective is to ascend four biomes, and to use whatever equipment and leftover resources you can unearth to increase your chances of surviving the climb. As you tackle one obstacle, a glimmer of your stamina bar decreases, thus presenting you with a juggling task: to unearth consumables and stat-boosting pick-me-ups whilst simultaneously completing hazardous feats in an efficient manner. Simply put, the more strenuous the task, the more stamina you lose. I guess you could say that, at least to some extent, it’s a bit like Jusant, with the matching climbing spikes, pitons, and energy meters to compliment the overall design.

There is something of a story here, though I wouldn’t say that it’s worth talking about, given how openly transparent the experience is. For the sake of clarity, though, it essentially tells the tale of four lost scouts who, in their quest to reach safety, make the attempt to traipse the four sections of a summit and climb to the highest peak. And that, in short, is your duty: to band together with three friends through invites, and to climb up the mountain, tackling whatever physics-based obstacles that stand between your squad and the apex.

A Tall Order, Given the Circumstances

Do you know how they say that teamwork makes the dream work? Well, such a quote couldn’t be more fitting for a game like PEAK. See, there are roles that each player must fill here, with one torchbearer being responsible for utilizing certain tools to make anchor points; a navigation expert, whose job is to pave the way for the remaining team members; and two support players, both of whom serve to aid others in their quest to overcome difficult obstacles, be it a large gap or an abnormally steep rock formation. At least, that’s how we decided to tackle the summit. The truth is, though, you don’t necessarily need a strategy to beat PEAK; it’s just a little easier if you do play the part and assign the responsibilities accordingly. Failing that, then there’s nothing preventing you from throwing caution to the wind and just, you know, winging it.

To answer the question of whether or not PEAK is a fun game to play with friends — yes, it is. It’s still a somewhat taxing experience, oftentimes due to the questionable nature of the UI, I’ll admit, but that’s also part of the learning process. And it’s surprisingly good, to be fair — the act of figuring out the buttons, alternating between different strategies and roles, and experimenting with equipment and consumables. The fact that PEAK also makes it so that each new session is unique in one form or another is another reason why I feel so strongly about it. Of course, there are only so many times that you can tackle a set amount of obstacles before the trials begin to feel a little, I don’t know, predictable. But then, if Fall Guys can do it, then why can’t PEAK? That’s the sacred gift of multiplayer though, I guess.

Verdict

PEAK takes its love of high altitudes and physics-based gameplay to formulate a fairly well-balanced co-op feat that feels both challenging and oddly satisfying to conquer. There’s still plenty of room for improvement, I’ll admit, what with several pieces of its world lacking a polished look and a few tight bolts to keep things intact. That said, for a multiplayer rock climbing sim, there’s a pretty solid foundation for it to build on here, with enough pitons and spikes for it to further expand its biomes and other integral features in future updates or perhaps even a DLC.

Although the “invite only” option does take some of the excitement out of the experience by excluding the traditional online matchmaking process, PEAK still manages to provide an excellent opportunity for tight-knit gamers to test their mettle and compatibility with a new system that’s teeming with original curveballs and dynamic design elements. And so, if you’ve a squad that you’d like to put to the test, then perhaps you ought to consider donning the ropes and pitons in this vertigo-obsessed cortex of summits.