Vaulting Over It Review (PC)

In an effort to traipse where Getting Over It once was, and to ascend the same hierarchy as it once did, a new game—Vaulting Over It—has launched itself beyond the whole nine yards and into the hands of the public and fledgling rage baiters alike. It seems at this point that there’s no incentive, but a precious ego that needs to be doxxed and nurtured with whatever little blood sugar and insurmountable curveballs that the world can afford to give. And to think, we actually spend money on these things. The jury’s out on that one, as is my vertebrae after taking one too many leisurely strolls to calm my post-Olympic temper.

If you read the title ‘Vaulting Over It’ and found yourself taking an ill-timed trip down memory lane, then frankly, Studio Rita has already claimed you as one of its own. See, the devil is in the details here; the game, although anchors and feats apart, is just another version of Getting Over It. The blood-boiling theatrics and rage-inducing checkpoints are present, as is the false hope that you will achieve your wildest dreams if you “just put a little more effort into your backswing.” Oh, Vaulting Over It is exactly what you think it is, and if you haven’t already taken the plunge into Getting Over It, then congratulations — you have officially saved money on any possible acupuncture treatments. You win, basically.

If you’re still here, then you either love and crave pain, or you think that you’re slick enough to mount any tall order and walk away with your head held high. If you fall into the former, then good news — Vaulting Over It has a seat for you. If, however, it’s the latter, then I almost hate to break it to you, but nobody, not even Bennett, can climb this repellent throne. But then, if you’re all for putting your money where your mouth is (or your pole where the asphalt is, naturally), then you might as well stick around for a while as we gently unpack Studio Rita’s love letter to anger.

Nope, Still Not Over It

Vaulting Over It earmarks a simple cross on its chest—a crest that, like Getting Over It, doesn’t resemble sparkling qualities or gleaming traits, but a rougher exterior that, frankly, you more or less hate to look at yet also can’t seem to get enough of. It’s a concoction of sorts—a combination of two despicable ideas that are historically well known, though not universally accepted. There’s a lot of generic platforming, and a wedge—a pole, in this case—that prevents you from happily ascending a tall tower. Suffice it to say that, if you have played Getting Over It, then you probably won’t need a formal introduction to this incarnation. It’s the same thing…but with poles.

Of course, if you have ever watched a vaulting bout in the Olympics and thought, ‘oh, I could easily do that’, then I almost hate to break it to you, but honestly, yes, you probably could. How, you ask? Well, because the act of learning to pole vault in real life is probably a lot easier than it is in Vaulting Over It. This isn’t to say that mastering pole vaulting etiquette is easy; it’s that, if you can muster up the skills to conquer a “simple” video game about it, then you can also win gold at the next Olympics. That bad news here is that the game in question is a massive pain in the backside.

It’s simple: you take a pole, and you “gracefully” bolt and fling your idiotic body around in a desperate bid to ascend a rather dangerous path. If you can prevail and successfully mount the summit, then you will claim eternal glory and, more importantly, bragging rights for all mankind. However, if you fail to wedge your pole in the correct location, or even so much as accidentally pinball your useless sack of meat in a way that benefits the environment, then you essentially have to start from scratch and, well, do it all over again. To echo — you pay for this experience. Are you having fun yet?

Prepping for the Olympics

Vaulting Over It isn’t a mechanic-heavy game; it’s a one-note ordeal in which you need only utilize the raw power of precision to calculate your maneuvers and time near-perfect landings. It’s a lot easier said than done, mind you, as you don’t drop like a sack of spuds on landing your jumps; you bounce in all directions and, on some occasions, back to the beginning of your ascent. That happens a lot. Go figure.

Beneath all of these brief spouts of frustration and toddler tantrums is a rather simple experience that doesn’t leave much to the imagination. Thankfully, there is a good selection of biomes to pass through, including several medieval-like castles and towns, caves and woodlands. Granted, it isn’t always easy to stop and soak up the sights, as rage and destruction more or less takes hold as you approach each area. Still, there is a fair amount for you to admire here — even when you are fleeting through at breakneck speed. Heck, at least it isn’t as dull as Getting Over It.

All in all I’d say that you’re looking at a relatively short journey here, and one that, if you can muster up the energy to conquer its physics-based vaulting mechanics, should see you lost in the rhythm of its world for the long haul. You will still hate every step of said journey, but you will come to uncover another part of yourself that, honestly, might be better stowed away in your internal back pocket for further affairs. As the saying goes: you win some, you lose some. It just so happens that there are no winners here.

Verdict

Vaulting Over It wants to be Bennett, and does all in its power to appeal to those who still call Bennett a cult hero. Yet there’s something here that keeps it in the trenches of its primary influence’s shadow—a lead anchor, or a hammer, perhaps, that prevents it from removing the shackles and ascending the ladder as its own distinct force. Don’t get me wrong, Vaulting Over It is still an oddly entertaining game that scratches “that” itch, but it’s also somewhat difficult to tell the difference between what is a unique indie and what is a rage-baiting affair that exists only to fuel the spirit of Bennett’s cult following. In this case, I think it falls more towards the latter.

Sure enough, Vaulting Over It establishes some good anchor points and pitons for you to clamber through. It’s still a painful process that doesn’t bring much to the table outside of endless suffering and misery, but it is, in spite of all its weaknesses and similarities with its source material, an annoyingly charming game that deserves merely a pittance of your time. I wouldn’t go any further than that. With hindsight, I should have simply walked away when it told me to jump, and not have exorcised the demons that were already running rampant in my fingertips. Swings and roundabouts, I guess.