This is Fine: Maximum Cope

This Is Fine: Maximum Cope takes a meme that anyone who’s spent time online knows by heart and turns it into an honest metroidvania, with five worlds that map out five stages of distress – humiliation, fear, failure, loss, regret – each with a precise aesthetic and a boss that marks the passage to the next. The game structure doesn’t complicate the player’s life: abilities unlock quickly, the map clears in almost a straight line, and fast travel becomes available right away. The visual style bets everything on hand-drawn animation, true to the original comic-strip roots, without chasing technical ambitions it doesn’t need. The real battlefield the game plays on is tone: it starts playful and sarcastic, then grows steadily darker with Loss and Regret, without ever sliding into rhetoric or moralizing. It’s a simple setup, especially on the combat front, but it’s a simplicity that holds up well if you approach the game with the right mindset – more an experience to move through than a challenge to beat. Question Hound, in the end, confirms himself as a perfectly tragic character dressed up as a meme, and that’s exactly his winning card.

In no moment did I feel annoyed whilst playing This Is Fine: Maximum Cope, to my absolute surprise. It was a competent, somewhat well-designed metroidvania, with decent level design and boss battles to make up for underwhelming visuals and a generic combat system. Is it my favorite metroidvania? No. I also doubt I would have ever considered playing it if it wasn’t for this reviewing opportunity, as I have zero interest in the meme that inspired the game as a whole. But I’ll be honest with you: I expected a LOT less from it.

This is most certainly fine

This is Fine: Maximum Cope manages to transform an internet meme into a solid, deep, and aesthetically brilliant playable experience, though it might feel a bit short if you aren't a completionist. While the Spanish translation is something that urgently needs improvement, it doesn't tarnish the great work done on the mechanics and level design.