Sunday, March 30 marked the much-awaited release of Vid Games’ new game Line. Line was released for 3DO and Atari Jaguar and there are plans to release a Game Boy version of the game later this year.
Some users questioned Vid Games’ decision to release Line only on 3DO and Atari Jaguar. In a press release on Monday, March 31, Vid Games Spokesperson Hammond Eggs explained, “Vid Games is looking to expand our market by developing games for different systems. 3DO and Atari Jaguar have been so successful, releasing Line for those systems just made sense.” Vid Games’ bold move has paid off. Line has been a commercial success, selling over 16.5 million copies the day of its release.
The concept of the game is simple. Line features a black line on a white background that players can control by moving the line up, down, right or left.
While some disgruntled players have bashed the artwork for being “overly simple,” it generally has been well received by critics. One critic even went on to claim, “[Line] is a visual masterpiece-possibly the world’s greatest work of modern art.” GSAS major Dinah Sore ’17 said, “The game really is incredible. I can only dream of working on such an impressive project in the future.” Additionally, the game has an award-winning soundtrack with songs including “Saturday” by Rebecca Black, Gummibär’s “I’m a Gummy Bear”, and “Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!”
The game begins slowly but quickly gains momentum. Carrie Oakey described Line as, “a challenging game of logic and strategy.” A review of Line by in the gaming magazine, Game Reviews and Stuff, describes Line as a “captivating game that will keep players on the edge of their seats.” Red-eyed Jesse Sgyrl ’14, who claims to have waited in line for three days to buy Line, said, “I can’t stop playing [Line]- I haven’t left my room in three days. The game’s got me hooked!”
As someone who rarely indulges in video games, before playing Line, I was skeptical. How good can such a simple game be? I can happily announce that Line did not disappoint. Don’t be fooled by the game’s seemingly simple design. Line lures players in under the false pretense of being a quick, simple game and then traps them with absurdly difficult challenges. I highly encourage anyone who hasn’t tried it to err on the side of caution. After playing Line for almost eight straight hours, I realized that there was a dark side to the game; it’s incredibly addictive. The game completely took over my life after only playing it once. I would advise anyone who hasn’t tried it, to avoid playing Line at all costs.