Gold-Plated Games

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“Eversion” is defined as the process of turning something inside-out. I’m going to attempt to spoil as little as possible here but I’ll say up front that it’s a terribly appropriate name, and figuring out why for yourself is one of the little pleasures to be found here. Working out the mechanics and the strangely twisting road to the end is a big part of the appeal, so I’ll say this: If you’re a fan of things that start pleasant and turn sinister, stop reading here and get eversion for yourself. I very much doubt you’ll be disappointed.

There’s a princess and she’s kidnapped and your little flower dude gotta save her from button-mushroom-looking guys, as if you couldn’t tell the Mario pastiche from looking at it. Mister flower here can move and jump, enough to stomp enemies and bump boxes for gems. He can also evert, which changes things in ways I’m not going to expand upon. The challenge appears straight-forward at first but everting means every level has a lot more layers to it than it appears. Add on top of that a few hundred gems to collect if you’re up to it and a few well-hidden secrets, and you’ve got a tight little game to challenge your reasoning and reflexes.

It shouldn’t take you more than an hour to beat the game, but the gems let you access an additional level and a different ending. Scoring them all will take some puzzling and that last level builds on what you’ve done up to that point in a really clever way. There’s not much point in me continuing to be vague so trust me when I say eversion is a smart gimmick done right. It’s small in scope, challenging in the right ways, and looks the part with its simple, colorful graphics. The secrets and surprises in store for you are well worth taking a chance on this one.