The Ramp Review

 











A Digital Toy?-A The Ramp Review

The Ramp, as described by the developer themself, is a digital toy meant to highlight an aspect of vert skateboarding that is often overlooked. Does the little microgame highlight this aspect or fail to really be anything of value for 5 bucks? Let's find out.

A State of Flow

The Ramp showcases the carving into curves that skateboarders will do to gain speed on halfpipes and bowls. Essentially, you bend and release your knees on the board depending on what part of the ramp you are at to gain and maintain speed. The Ramp's incorporation of this mechanic relies on rhythmic button presses chained together to gain more height and move faster. There are even a few nifty mechanics here like turning before a jump to spin faster off a ramp, which was very fun to mess around with. 


What results is a game that, while extremely simplistic, is a great little distraction for small play sessions and is wholly satisfying. The sound design is also great, with satisfying grind sounds and great indicators of when you gain speed and when you don't. Each of the game's 4 stages have some deviation in ground properties, which feel different due to the aforementioned sound design. 


I also enjoyed the game's final level quite a lot, which features a huge ramp to gain speed and an incline that allows you to pull off crazy tricks. For a game you pick up and play for only short play sessions each time, it was fun to experiment with the crazy speed I could obtain on this level. 

Perhaps a bit too simplistic?

I'd say my only complaints come from the price point of The Ramp and its visuals. For a game with only 4 levels and 12 achievements that took me 2 hours to get, even a $5 price tag feels a step too steep (I'd say the perfect balance here is something more akin to a mobile game, like $1.99 or $2.99). The visuals, while not obtrusive, also leave a bit more to be wanted. Specifically, the distinct lack of backgrounds leaves a very strong mobile game feel here where backgrounds could have added so much character. In all, these too factors hampered my ability to give this game a truly outstanding score.

Verdict

I really enjoyed The Ramp for highlighting an aspect of Skating not covered by the wealth of skateboarding games out there. The polished feel of The Ramp is refreshing, yet its simplicity does hamper the experience as a whole. 

7.3/10-Very Short But Very Satisfying


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