Baseless

On balance I very much enjoyed Baseless and I honestly can’t pick many faults at all. However, the strenuous gameplay will prove make or break for some, especially when the control niggles only make things more problematic.

This is an inventive and ambitious platformer built around a striking movement system that turns shooting into traversal, rewarding precision, experimentation, and patience once it clicks. Its colourful presentation, varied encounters, and flexible upgrade systems show clear confidence and creativity, but the demanding movement and uneven difficulty curve can make the experience feel more punishing than inviting at times. While Assist options help smooth some of those edges, Baseless remains a game that asks a lot of its players and will resonate most with those willing to fully commit to mastering its systems.

Baseless hooked me with its fast combat, varied weapons and satisfying upgrades. Each zone ends with a great-looking boss fight, and the hub adds some fun side activities even if a few mini games and objectives can be a bit uneven.

Baseless' main mechanic takes getting used to. There is no way around that. Anyone who plays it on its own terms and learns to harness the physics will find it rewarding. Most of the time, using a high-powered space gun to control movement feels like trying to tame a wild beast. It's understandably unwieldy, yet mastering it under one's dominion is a euphoric rush.

Baseless is one of the best indie games of the year with its unconventional and well thought-out gameplay complete with many facets that'll keep you pushing your skills further and further. It looks lovely to boot and how cute are those scarves? 🧣

Fun, fast-paced planet-jumping shooter on PS5