I am trying to make it through my Steam backlog.

This is a Herculean task. I have now played every game I bought on Steam between October 2013 and June 2016. A lot of it was schlock. Some of it, unexpectedly, was not.

Linea, the Game is not a favourite of mine. But it is at least an original idea. The only real objective is to survive for 60 seconds while the game steadily accelerates and your nervous system does the same. There is no destination. Just time bearing down on you.

I found myself shouting at the screen every time I clipped an object. That reaction felt justified for about half a second. Then it became obvious it was always my fault. The game is very clear about that. There are leaderboards, after all. Your failure is recorded. Publicly.

What amused me is how naked the design is. Four levels. No story. No characters. Just abstract geometry, electronic music, and pressure. There is even a paid DLC that exists purely to make the game harder, complete with its own separate high score tables, which feels both honest and unhinged.

The mechanics still do not compel me. It pushes minimalism to the edge of austerity. But there is merit here, especially if you like games that strip everything away until only reaction time, panic, and self-inflicted blame remain.