When I was a kid, I always thought it would be fun to learn how to walk on stilts.  But where would you buy them?  And because of my disability, being blind in my left eye since birth and having limited depth perception and peripheral vision, it also affects my balance.  It’s why I’ve never been able to ride a bike or skateboard.  So stilts were definitely out of the question.  But maybe I could do it in a video game?  Well, here’s Stilt Fella, a game about guiding a dude through obstacles on stilts.  It’s available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.

Before you start, they give you a little tutorial showing the controller and telling you that the L and R sticks move your left and right stilt sticks, and the L2 and R2 buttons pick them up.  But when I tried to do that in the actual levels, I just couldn’t figure it out.  I’d move the L stick forward and the little man would tilt it backwards.  I tried reversing the controls in the options screen and it would do the same thing.  Heck I would fall over even if I didn’t push anything!  I only got past the first level by inching and nudging my way forward.  Supposedly you can unlock new outfits and stilt styles, but other than the candy cane stilts, I didn’t see anything past Level 2.  There may be a good game in here somewhere, but the steep learning curve on the controls was just too much for me.  So no stilts in video games for me neither.

Kid Factor:

Nothing too violent or objectionable here.  Your little man can fall down and go “oof” but that’s about it.  Reading skill is helpful for the text, but not necessary just to play.  Younger gamers may find the controls too difficult, though.  Stilt Fella is rated E for Everyone.

Tags: Game Reviews