Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling (Nintendo Switch) – The review

Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling is a little game that puts you in the shoes of a student… with psychological problems. Developed by silver978 and published by Flynns Arcade, this little independent game will be released on February 29, 2024 on theeShop of the Nintendo Switch. For €2.99 you can experience a real nightmare! Are you going to try the experience?

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The psychological adventure of a stressed girl!

UA nightmare, luckily it never lasts long. And this game too! Indeed, in Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling, you play a girl in full burnout who has just woken up from her nap. But very quickly, improbable events will occur. Warning, this game contains blood and violence, it is not recommended for young audiences!

Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling is fully translated into French. In this point'n'click game, you use icons superimposed on the screen to interact, observe or move. The game only works with 2 buttons: the directional cross and the A button (and the + button for the pause menu). It is fully playable in touch mode but this mode has a certain flaw: it is sometimes difficult to touch the desired icons, you have to touch several times to be sure you are aiming correctly.

Unlike the PC version, the game takes place on the left of the screen and the texts are on the right. It's much more beautiful and we don't understand why the PC version isn't like that too.

The graphics are very well done. They are drawn by hand, and it shows in the charm that this game gives us (despite its much less charming story!). The game's story is short, but intense. It is divided into 5 small chapters, with a checkpoint (save) between each of them. As you progress, your doubts and anxieties will manifest and take over you… and your environment. Fortunately, you will meet a charming boy who can (perhaps?) help you see things more clearly.

A distressing but attractive atmosphere

The successful gamet to immerse us in this stressful atmosphere, through its graphics which deliberately crackle – making the image less flat and more alive – and through its soundtrack. The latter is only composed of ambient music. It fits the game well and makes the experience more immersive, but we still regret the absence of little melodies that could have given more charm. In certain chapters, we are treated to lugubrious sounds, sometimes composed of very disturbing sound effects accompanied by a certain crackling sound. (We had the impression that certain noises did not come from the console! Brrr, what anxiety!) This did the job very well because we were totally immersed in the atmosphere, and like our character, we were trying to get out of this mess while keeping our cool.

The story keeps us in suspense from start to finish. We want to reach the end of our misadventure while taking the time to interact with each of the elements to learn more about our character's life. Besides, speaking of this ending… there are two! The final chapter will be divided based on your actions and will lead you to a good or bad ending. Obviously, you can return to the previous chapter to try to obtain the other ending. Once both endings are unlocked, you will be able to access a bonus mode to learn a little more about our character's story. (A little easter egg is hidden there, by the way!) Allow only 30 minutes to finish the adventure, and less than an hour to unlock the other ending and fully explore the bonus mode. Yes, it's very short, even for the price.

Our only real disappointment with this game: the lack of development of the story, and especially the moral linked to it. It lacks depth, and for a theme like stress and burnout, we were hoping for something more solid. The end of the game could have been better worked, leaving us with a shaky conclusion, and an absolutely unclear message (if not even non-existent) for players in the same situation as our character.

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