Endeavor

One of my favorite games of 2010 at first sight might appear as a conventional platformer but actually has a witty twist.

You play a dwarf trying to uncover an ancient secret, and to do so, have to get a series of upgrades exploring a world full of weird plants and sarcastic critters. Starting up as a helpless little guy who can’t even jump to nearby stairs, as you go further in the game you’re even able to kill anyone being unpleasant - or just looking suspicious, for that matter.

This all seems very nice, and maybe rather harmless for someone (like me) with previous game experience in mind. You just do what you gotta do. Or at least what you think the dwarf has to do to reach that treasure chest visible from the beginning of the game. Though, throughout your adventure the question that rises is “do you really know why you’re doing it?” And you probably don’t, but do it anyway.

With multiple endings that count on your predictiveness, this smart online game is not only entertaining, it also makes you ponder about life. It is not unusual to think we know what we’re doing and just smash our sorry faces on a wall instead of getting what we wanted. It’s also not unusual to do things without thinking it through or asking ourselves why we’re really doing them. Moreover, sometimes we just see ourselves getting into random stuff that just has no greater purpose.

Now I just need to figure this out. Maybe the answers are in some other games.