GameTech: Struggling is farcical, grotesque and a lot of fun

The world of the Struggling video game is hilarious, with gags in every level and even the death-moans of the creature pitched to make you belly laugh

The main character in the Struggling video game looks like a cross between Krang from the Mutant Ninja Turtles, and a melted octopus.

Existence can be a struggle. Sometimes, even getting out of bed can seem difficult. Just be thankful that you are not the creature from Struggling (Switch and Steam), where even basic movement is a challenge. But like all things in life, a helping hand (literally) can make all the difference.

The nameless abomination you control in Struggling wakes up in a lab, trapped in a giant glass jar, with only two long arms attached to a hideous head with two faces. It looks like a cross between Krang from the Mutant Ninja Turtles, and a melted octopus. But less handsome than that.

The nameless thing quickly realises its existence is horror (although we only ever hear comical moans) and leaves the giant jar to begin its escape. The problem is that our horrific hero only has two, squishy tentacle limbs for movement, neither of which it controls very well. The result is a journey that is equal parts challenging and comical.

Playing as our writhing hero means controlling each of its limbs separately, so that the creature can perform simple movement by pulling itself from place to place. While that might sound simple in theory, in practice it can be hilariously difficult, as the flailing limbs simple do not work well.

To make matters worse, the lab in which our monster was born is a fever dream obstacle course, where vats of acid, other mutated creatures and the scientists themselves all make travelling extremely dangerous for the hero. Simply climbing over a small pit becomes a matter of life or death.

As a result, you’ll find yourself completely enthralled by the skin-of-your-teeth, drunken-master moves that you pull off in order to move from one place to the next. While one tentacle arm barely grasps a ledge, the other flails wildly, waiting for you to control it, separately, to balance the physics out.

While our monstrosity is the star of the show, the level design almost steals the limelight. The world keeps finding new ways to make you smile, from escaping a rising sea of rats (ok, maybe not smile), to using a giant creature as a pinball machine (very much smile) to gaining powers that allow you to slow time. 

The world of Struggling is outright hilarious, despite being grotesque, with gags in every level and even the death-moans of the creature pitched to make you belly laugh.

We mentioned a helping hand at the start. Well, if you really want to challenge a friendship or relationship, consider playing the game in co-operative mode. Struggling was designed specifically so that two players can control one limb of the creature each, making communication and mutual planning essential to keeping the creature safe. Like being a parent, but easier. It’s great fun.

In a subtle way, Struggling is a very human game. It is farcical and grotesque, as life itself can be, and full of pointless death as the creature fails time and again – but, despite all that, the struggle is worth it.

WHITE MALE GAMERS

Meanwhile, the gaming industry faces many struggles of its own, not least of which is a lack of real diversity in the biggest games. 

While gaming has hugely improved in terms of variety and scope of experiences, the biggest products often need to play it safe to please the main player base, which remains predominantly white and male in the western world.

That’s the topic explored by Jay-Ann Lopez on BBC Radio 4 this Saturday 12, at 8pm. Lopez is described as a ‘serious gamer’ with particular interest in first-person shooters. In the show, she will ask why “gaming culture has remained so resilient, what shaped it, and what part it plays in the misogyny and racism facing many gamers today.” 

Lopez will draw on the archives of the BBC to see how gaming has grown and transformed over the years, while also debating “the tensions and opportunities in this vast landscape with sociologists, psychologists and gaming industry insiders”.

It will be interesting to see how Lopez tackles a well-tread subject, especially in the era of Minecraft, Fortnite and now Fall Guys. 

Arguably the two best new gaming heroes in recent years are female, with Kassandra from Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and especially Alloy from Horizon Zero Dawn being great representations of strong, unique women in gaming. 

However, whether the games in question catered to a wide demographic is another question, one that we’re eager to see Lopez tackle.