Writings of Mass Deduction

There’s something kind of serene about getting in the zone while playing “Hypotenuse”.

It comes to us from the developer of “Chalked”, a game that I really liked even though almost no one else seemed to get how to play it. Most people found it impossible to progress in, but I was able to, and my review addressed how one might. To the point that, before replaying “Chalked”, I re-read my review and say to myself something like “Oh, right, THAT’S how you’re supposed to play “Chalked”).

“Chalked” was a real looker for its day, with tremendous attention to detail for its day (right down to the menus, rare for an indie game at the time). “Hypotenuse” continues that trend of nice presentation and fluid animation, except here you’re hacking down waves of rectangular sword-bearing warriors.

And yet, the game doesn’t have a lot of meat on its bones: there are no expansive levels, no multiplayer modes, and few options. So what makes it worth buying? It’s a tremendous artistic achievement, wrapped up in near perfect controls. And that makes it at least worth a download, if not 80 Microsoft Points.

Here’s what the developer (iamrece) has to say about the game:

“Hypotenuse: The longest side of a right angle triangle… or the proper way to kill a rectangle ninja!”