Tengoku no Tou - Tower of Heaven

Typically*, in games, when one is being commanded, or given friendly advice, by the voice of a vengeful god that is kind of trying to kill them, one listens. Tower of Heaven breaks the mold and asks you to defy a deity by attempting to climb a mysterious tower that supposedly reaches god himself - and god apparently has a fancy prize for those that have been bestowed with sufficient platforming prowess.

For me, this game was a fairly quick play, and its difficulty was balanced appropriately; I didn't really experience frustration as I played through. There are a number of unexpected elements, however if you have sufficient experience playing platform games, then you will be able to figure out the little puzzles quickly enough. The platform elements are fun and the controls are tight, but the digital lo-fi synth videogame style music shines through as one of the best things about the game. The composer's deviantart site is here.

Tower of Heaven has an 8-bit Gameboy feel that generates a great sense of nostalgia. Here is a video of an early demo version of the game:

The audio isn't quite synced appropriately, but it displays what is awesome about this game - its 8bit style along with a whimsically murderous god that gives you arbitrary rules.

Overall, anybody looking for a quick challenge should pick up this game. It's not necessarily for people that are new to platform games, but for me, it was a fun way to spend a bit of time.

It can be downloaded here for free.

*Not so typical, I know.