140 is a rhythm/platformer for PC. In it you play a square that becomes as circle to roll around and a triangle when in the air. Left, right, and jump are the whole control scheme and you use it to navigate through an obstacle course seeking out tiny two tone circles and bring them to platforms. Uniting the circles and their platforms changes the level and the background music by adding elements. The music provides timing cues for the obstacles and evolves with the level, adding more syncopation the further one gets. Each level ends with a boss and while check points are frequent the one hit deaths combined mean you need them. The check points also don't persist between closing and reopening the game meaning that if you don't beat that boss that's killed you seventy three times today you're starting from the beginning of the level tomorrow. All together this moves the game into the range of Nintendo Hard.
Small, short games with basic gimmicks, geometric protagonists, electronic soundtracks, and minimalist graphics are a recent trend. This can be seen as stylistic reduction to the most important bits or plain laziness on the part of the developers. It holds together here but I can't help but wonder how much further it will go. The positives of this game are that it is straightforward, well paced, and challenging in a way that feels mostly fair. The negatives are that it's simplistic bordering on shallow, the background throbs with the music which at least one reviewer said gave them motion sickness, and it puts you through your paces in those boss battles. This game appeals to a particular type of gamer with a masochistic streak or a love of real challenge. For everybody else this is probably going to be both too much and too little.
IRON NODER: WE'LL RUST WHEN WE'RE DEAD