Only Way is Down is a game both developed and Published by Jilted Generation Productions. With very little to go on, as the only other release by this studio is Unreal Physics (which is more or less a collection of physics simulations)- I turned an eye over to their website to see if there was any other addition information. After staggering my way through what is the most generic and baffling sites I think I’ve seen, I found my way to the actual site for Only Way is Down. It looks like it is developed by a solo indie developer: Ian Everett. I am unsure is he is the entirety of JGP, but either way, I was looking forward to taking a dive into Only Way is Down.

There are plenty of choices to make, and hats to collect to help you  customize your furry feline companion.

Taking the role of a furry feline who picked the wrong place to nap, you find yourself atop a skyscraper, and, as the title would imply, the Only Was is Down. Making use of your feline acrobatics, navigate your way though obstacles and precision platforming chaos to get yourself heading home. It’s no simple task and, luckily, you have eight lives to do it in. While, to begin with, you will have a limited selection when it comes to accessories and hats- you do have a fair say in the overall appearance of your homeward bound feline friend. You have several “breeds” (more or less) to chose from with different eye colors, and most importantly: Different levels of… CHONK. From Zero Chonk to Oh Lawd, feel free to pick your desired amount of… thicc. I would say that there *is* no real different in game play(realistically, there's not, however…)… but you may notice some….small discrepancy when falling from large heights, to say the least.

One too many paws leaving the ground, or a missed step will quickly lead to the loss of one of your lives... tread carefully. 

I will say, that it might take some getting used to when it comes to the responsiveness of the controls, no matter is you are using controller or keyboard, it will likely take some getting used to. After attempting both, I eventually settled on keyboard and mouse, as it just felt like the more responsive of the two movement methods. That being said- I did find that… the cat really just didn’t CONTROL how I would have expected it to. It did have a period of adjustment, and I think I wasted nearly all of my first 8 lives trying to figure out the latency between input and response. Additionally, I will note that your keyboard *will*matter. I have several, and upon using a more “soft” or “mushy” bottom out, there were PROBLEMS to put it lightly. Having a snappy responsive keyboard with a good stiff space bar will absolutely be your friend.

Unfortunately, this is most common place when it comes to what you have to look at. Concrete, rebar, drywall and traffic cones.

Visually, while ample to fit the mood- it really felt somewhat assety to me- though this really could boil down to the setting of being in a construction site: There’s just not a whole lot to *visually* stimulate. A color pallet you will come to expect, mostly comprising of gray- with pops of blues, reds and oranges become a drone after awhile, even against the backing skyline you occasionally get some larger glimpses of. On top of this, while I wouldn’t say the cat’s visuals are by any means bad, they read as generic, as the level of chonk only applies directly to the bodys CORE mass, not extending to the limbs (tail or legs)- making for an utterly hilarious, if not slightly ridiculous time. Overall, while entirely digestible, it really leave some to be desired.

If playing the chonk variety, you'll notice that you only seem to carry weight in your upper proportions. While hilarious, I was finding myself wishing for a more proportionate representation.

While the visuals are entirely passable, and with some acclimation, the controls works well-enough as intended, I did find myself some what perplexed at some of the choices made when it came to audio direction of the game. Most of the noises are subtle- a small thump of your jumping feline, or one of a few select meows… nothing that wouldn’t be expected. The music, however, seems to be a strange mash up of popular tunes man would recognize from TikTok, done in a piano style that really seems unfitting for the game. Overall I don’t think it added much, and if anything confused me why a more upbeat and exploitative choice wasn’t made. 

There are multiple routes you can take, leading you across different areas. Keep your eyes peeled, sometimes you may find a road less traveled. 

As far as gameplay itself, the lack of visually interesting backgrounds, odd music selection, and very fickle controls- I had a hard time fully enjoying this title. Precision platform gamers may really be enticed by the challenge, though to what extent, that could remain to be seen. Overall the concept is very cute, but could have used some fine tuning in multiple departments, as it still leaves much to be desired. In retrospect, if you view this as a title made by a single developer, it's an impressive feat- one I possibly would have like to have had time to cook longer.

Only Way is Down will be available on the Steam Marketplace on April1st, 2025.