The Incident Review

Frank Solway is having a strange day. There he was, just minding his own business, when a taxi cab fell out of the sky… and then a propeller… and then a big foam hand. For reasons completely unknown to Frank, items were raining down from the sky! If he wants to survive, Frank is going to need your help to guide him out of the path of these inexplicably falling objects.

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The Incident offers a healthy dose of frantic 8-bit fun.

Frank Solway is having a strange day. There he was, just minding his own business, when a taxi cab fell out of the sky… and then a propeller… and then a big foam hand. For reasons completely unknown to Frank, items were raining down from the sky! If he wants to survive, Frank is going to need your help to guide him out of the path of these inexplicably falling objects.

The Incident is a simple, yet completely charming, action/arcade game about safely navigating poor Frank out of the path of imminent death. Players control Frank using the iPhone’s tilt mechanism, and can tap on the screen to help Frank jump. If he wants to discover what’s at the source of this raining object madness, he’ll need to climb the mountain of items that is growing beneath his feet without being hit by any of the objects travelling down from the sky.

Every level is broken up by checkpoints that Frank can use to continue his climbing journey after being smooshed to death by a giant teddy bear or some other comically absurd item. You’ll be glad to have those checkpoints, too, because Frank is going to get squished to death a lot. Spanning seven levels and offering a good deal of challenge, players looking for an accessible yet frantic arcade-style experience are going to really dig what The Incident has to offer.

The Incident

The retro 8-bit presentation absolutely sparkles in The Incident. Since the game is made up of so many different items, seeing how each is presented in the game’s charming 8-bit style is an absolute blast. Everything from queen-sized mattresses to Modrian’s famed Composition II is lovingly rendered in a classically 1980’s way.

The game’s soundtrack plays like a bygone gem from that era as well. Whoever handled the music in The Incident is to be commended. As a fan of video game music, I can honestly say I’d pony up for this on iTunes. And music isn’t the only strong point for the game’s audio, either. Every item makes a distinctive sound that perfectly matches its morphology. For example, a vase may make the sound of breaking glass when it hits the ground, while an anvil might make a large thud.

The levels get larger and the items change frequently, but the core gameplay never really varies from the simple mechanics described above. The Incident is fun, but it’s also very much a one trick pony in terms of gameplay. Whether you’re playing first stage on the street or the fourth stage in the sky, the experience is largely the same. New power-ups appear level after level, but they’re just not enough to keep the gameplay feeling fresh throughout. Still, so long as you take it in small doses, The Incident can provide a satisfying challenge for gamers in need of a quick fix.

Seeing which new items drop from the sky to bring about Frank’s doom never gets old, and the frantic gameplay can keep you on your toes as you try to remain on top of the ever-growing garbage mountain. If you’re looking for a new experience with old school arcade-style simplicity, The Incident is one item you’ll want to catch.

The good

    The bad

      70 out of 100
      Jim Squires is the Editor-in-Chief of Gamezebo. Everything you see passes his eyes first, so we like to think of him as "the gatekeeper of cool stuff." He likes good games, great writing, and just can't say no to a hamburger. Also, he is not a bear.