Only Up! is a new game which has quickly grown in popularity with players after launching in May. It has already been dubbed a 'rage game', as players who make one wrong move can end up annoyingly losing hours of progress.
It is the first and only game to be both developed and published by vertical 3D platform SCKR Games. Players are tasked with climbing a series of challenging obstacles until they reach space.
Although this may sound simple, it is incredibly hard, with its gameplay attracting the attention of some of the world biggest streamers and best speed-runners (people who attempt to complete a game as quick a possible). What makes Only Up! so unique, is that you cannot save your progress - you either win or lose hours of progress.
A description of Only Up! on Steam reads: "Have you ever wanted to walk up to the clouds? Embark on an exciting journey in Only Up! Exploring a huge world full of secrets and mysteries, you have to get as high as possible, and the most interesting starts above the clouds."
In the game, you play a young teen named Jackie, who comes from "the ghetto" and "wants to get out of poverty and embark on a journey of learning about the world." While playing as Jackie, if players make a mistake, they are punished and can be sent straight back to the start of the level.
For some pro speed-runners, they can complete the game in under 20 minutes or in just mere seconds. While for others, they can spend hours trying to successfully meet the famous astronaut at the very top of the map.
To get there, players face a range of obstacles including pipes, bridges and trampolines. The slightest mistake can result in the loss of progress if you can't rectify your error quickly.
Only Up has gone viral thanks to high-profile streamers such as Adin Ross, Hasan Piker and iShowSpeed playing the game on their respective streams. The latter lost a whopping eight hours of progress in one move in a moment caught live.
Only Up was developed by SCKR Games and released in May 2023 and is available to play on Steam for £8.50 ($10.80). Recently, the game was taken off Steam, worrying fans that is was set to be removed permanently.
However, the confusion was cleared up by helpful Reddit user LuntiX, who said it was de-listed for a game update. "Yesterday the game was updated to swap out the section with the giant girl was removed and replaced with a statue of Atlas holding the earth," they said.
