Impulse
Joel Kelley · 2021 · Action, Puzzle, Physics, 2D, Arcade
PC
Positive92% · 12
This game is free to play. Get it on Steam →
Screenshots
About Impulse
Picture a mash-up of Super Meat Boy and Lunar Lander. Or N+ meets Asteroids. That’s Impulse.
The premise is simple. You need to guide your craft to the exit point of each level, avoiding the various obstacles and bad guys.
Levels are short, sometimes brutal affairs. There are no life limits, retry as many times as you need. Restarting a level is instant. There’s no waiting or loading — one moment you’re dead, a click of the mouse later and you’re ready to try again. You can even suicide so you don’t have to wait for death when you know you’ve fouled up.
Your craft is at the whim of Newtonian physics. With only a simple thruster you need to battle the forces of gravity and atmospheric drag all while avoiding high-speed impact. The trouble is that all these variables are liable to change with each level. Gravity could be strong, or weak, or zero; it may pull in any direction. Drag might mirror the vacuum of space or the ocean depths. Your craft’s thrusters might be strong or weak. You might have limited or limitless fuel. Your hull might laugh off high-speed impacts or it might shatter from the slightest bump.
With all these variables, levels take on very different feels. Some require careful thinking and gentle, deliberate action. Others are all about reflexes and reaction. Most are a mixture of both.
The premise is simple. You need to guide your craft to the exit point of each level, avoiding the various obstacles and bad guys.
Levels are short, sometimes brutal affairs. There are no life limits, retry as many times as you need. Restarting a level is instant. There’s no waiting or loading — one moment you’re dead, a click of the mouse later and you’re ready to try again. You can even suicide so you don’t have to wait for death when you know you’ve fouled up.
Your craft is at the whim of Newtonian physics. With only a simple thruster you need to battle the forces of gravity and atmospheric drag all while avoiding high-speed impact. The trouble is that all these variables are liable to change with each level. Gravity could be strong, or weak, or zero; it may pull in any direction. Drag might mirror the vacuum of space or the ocean depths. Your craft’s thrusters might be strong or weak. You might have limited or limitless fuel. Your hull might laugh off high-speed impacts or it might shatter from the slightest bump.
With all these variables, levels take on very different feels. Some require careful thinking and gentle, deliberate action. Others are all about reflexes and reaction. Most are a mixture of both.
What Steam players say
Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.
Impulse is a minimalist "line-art" action-physics/maze negotiation game where you control a little circle by clicking your mouse button, which causes it to "thrust" away from where you click. Using this propulsion method you must negotiate various obstacles and hazards to reach the goal zone at the end of each level. Surprisingly, support for varying resolutions is there, and you can turn off the garish blur/neon effects. Unfortunately the minimalist line art might have looked okay for an oscilliscope in the 1960's, it 2022 and computer graphics have advanced a lot since then. Gameplay is simple, and this is really the kind of shallow gameplay you'd expect from a mobile app rather than a serious PC game. The game is completely free. Nothing speaks more to a developers belief in themselves and their product than making their game available for everyone without remuneration. This is certainly a gesture that shows dedication to the gaming industry. It's a shame in this case that the implementation is below the minimum standards a dedicated PC game should offer to enthusiasts. There's no "maybe" option in Steam, unfortunately, but I hope to see more work from this developer,…4 found this helpful
good2 found this helpful
A deceptively simple and satisfying little gem. Simple enough on the surface - avoiding obstacles and hazards, you have to guide your little ship to it's goal. But each new level, you have to rethink your assumptions as the rules change - could be gravity is jacked up, could be a high drag co-efficient, could be the ship is suddenly a fragile little egg. It's part puzzle game, part physics based skill-tester. Has a small set of mechanics but combines them in very satisfying ways. Great fun.2 found this helpful
A really well made and fun game. Originally released in 2012, this steam version includes support for high resolutions. The graphics are simple and elegant, they remind me of old vector based arcade machines. There is a fair amount of special particle effects and other dynamic effects going on. The levels designs are very unique. There is a level editor to unleash your creative powers on. The soundtrack includes songs from several artists, mostly in electro-classical theme, adding to the style and feel of the game perfectly.1 found this helpful
Can someone please post a walkthrough for level 82 I can't figure out how to beat it, also this game is sick, download it EDIT: Finished the game, 9/10 too short :)1 found this helpful
[h1]Before I played Impulse, I had a small pp, no friends, no gf, depression, and no life. These things havent changed, but the game is pretty good[/h1]
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