I have a working theory that above all other aspects, the Vibe (with a capital V) of a game is the most important thing to enrapture a hypothetical audience. A strong Vibe is not a guarantee of such a thing, this algorithmic world we live in denies us such luxuries, it’s just the most important starting point. The Vibe does not look like any one thing, the only rule is that it must elicit a response along the lines of, “now what’s this, then?” Big Stretch, a game jam physics-based platformer that features hardly a semblance of assets, feels like it proves that theory to me.

Big Stretch was made in 72 hours for the most recent Down2Jam by only three people, so you shouldn’t expect some massively long thing; it’s as long as your own skills allow it to be. You, a perfectly spherical, red ball of a creature with googly eyes and an approximation of a beak, are dropped into the world with only two tools at your disposal: you’re incredibly stretchy left and right arms. Certain parts of the world are grabbable and let you fling yourself at speed, either forward like a bowling ball or up into the sky like… a bowling ball that an irresponsible teen threw up into the air.

Your task is then simple, sort of, in that you must climb a tower. There are no bells and whistles to this tower. Parts of it are the default Unity light and dark grey squares object texture, other parts rendered more like concrete. The most ethereal grass you’ve ever seen covers certain sections, a slowing safezone that prevents you from rolling off the tower, a fate that ultimately forces you to start from the beginning. Well, almost. After falling a small distance a Breath of the Wildian glider pops out, allowing you to make a little bit of a recovery.

Big Stretch is quite challenging, too. You have little control in the air after launching yourself, meaning if you’ve committed to a particular action, there’s no going back on it, almost reminding me of how Dark Souls forces you to reckon with every uncancelable input you make. Getting to the top of the tower isn’t an easy feat, and there’s no saving system, so you have to do it all in one go, perhaps a slightly offputting feature to some.

I am, frankly, enamoured by Big Stretch in all its glowing simplicity. The Vibe I spoke of manifests here as one of mystery. Why does this world exist? Who created these sisyphean platforming challenges? What even are you, and where did you come from? Is this the entrance to heaven? Why do you have to play a 3D platformer to get into heaven? There is hardly anything to the world of Big Stretch, and yet its Vibe brought all these questions out of me, a far more important thing than being wowed by a flashy triple-A set piece.

Big Stretch, if what I’ve described to you is of any interest, is available to download for free on itch.io. And Big Stretch team? Please make a full game, I’d very much like to play more of it.