By TerryI’m proud to finally present Don’t Look Back, my very first game in flash! For the next week or so it’s available only on Kongregate, but after that I’ll provide a standalone version of the game here.
Being a flash game it doesn’t have a readme, so this seems like an appropriate place to say thanks to the people who helped me test it and gave me feedback during its development! I’d like to say a special thanks to Denis Cavanagh, Stephen Lavelle, Gregory Weir, Alex May, Josiah Tobin, disasterpiece, benzido, Tim W., zaphos, dock, Noyb, agj, Kian Bashiri, cactus, Annabelle Kennedy, Brandon McCartin, Ian Snyder, Porter, ozdy, lachhh, and finally, to Kongregate.
I hope you enjoy the game 🙂
[Edit 12th March] Don’t Look Back is now also available on this site!
[Download offline DMG for Mac]
[Edit 26th March] To those of you looking for the soundtrack; you can find it here.
If this was your first game in Flash, I am wondering… what did you code in before now ?
Well done, Terry. really proud of you!
its been a while since some1 developed such a good game,, thnx dude, just one question,, can u upload the soundtrack so we can download it? thnx again =)
Holy flying beer goggles.
I may not sleep very well tonight.
Maybe I’m a sucker for beautiful simplicity but that game threw me for a serious loop and that’s nothing compared to what that ending did.
GOOD ONE.
The game was fantastic! The combination of the story and music was overwhelmingly beautiful. Where did you come up with the music for that?
Great game…. When the end hit me, I cried. Very well done.
I am french, so excuse my bad english ^^
I really enjoyed this game, and the minimalist graphics were so charming !
Keep doing cool games like this one !
Congratulations !
wow, thanks for making this game. it’s been a long time since i’ve played a decent flash game.
Loved the atmosphere, the soundtrack and the trashy graphics. the story kinda reminded me of the greek myth of orpheus. really a pretty cool idea to remake that! i hope to see more of your games!
This is based off of the story of Orpheous right? It would be nice to learn the story you’ve created here and why they both disappear after seeing himself in another place.
Really great game,
The atmosphere is good. It made me thought in some kind of “Another word”. I’ve enjoyed playing at ur game and will play it again. Give it another chapter!!!!
If you need french dev help, i’m here.
Well done, thanks
This is a beautiful game, trully wonderful, thank you.
This is truly a unique piece; simple, 8-bit graphics conveying a deep, beautiful, and foreboding atmosphere. A challenge and a great homage to the Orpheus myth. I, for one, saw the sense in replacing his lyre with a gun 😛 . I’ll be playing this gem for a long time, and I doubt I will tire of it anytime soon.
THIS GAME IS THE SHIT.
Well i dont think it was shit.. it was a good game, confusing at the end and im still thinking about it. which is a good thing in a way, you created something memorable and fun to play. Artistic etc
You know, if it’s THE shit, then that’s a good thing. And this game is a good thing.
[…] crumbs already tumbling forth to signal someone else’s morsel-sized feast. And so I share Don’t Look Back (Distractionware, 2009) with you. As you can see in the trailer, it’s a simple run-jump-shoot […]
i like your game hope you make more
This was a very fun, deep game.
(i died like 200 times though)
But i thought the ending was really depressing 🙁
it’s pretty lame. I mean I read every review (for no reason) and some people said its the best game in the universe, and it isn’t. I dont know how you people figured out the story but it only kinda made sense to me, why did he see himself at the end. However I did get the whole “don’t look back” theme. I eventually I got really bored of it because you only get 1 weapon which has to be the most boring weapon possible, the hand gun. Why were there only 2 bosses. The game was too short. The pixelated effect was very clever yet it got lame after a while. Overall I give it a 3/10
im the same guy that wrote “It’s not that great” One more thing is that allmost everybody says the music is completly perfect which is a really stupid thing to say because the music was just below average because there wern’t many different songs.
The guy above me illustrates the cancer that is destroying gaming
If you want to play an actually good game, play sonny 2 it was rated
Sonny 9.6/10
Dont look back 6.6/10
see the difference
and more of an experience. You don’t play the game, you experience it. The graphics, the music, the simpliity, the story that leaves you to figure things out yourself, everything.
Few games I’ve played have been this deep or emotional. Reminds me of the flash “The Majesty of Colors”
Also, I agree soundtrack plz.
I really liked this one, especially the pixelly rain effect and the overall style. Sure, the gameplay is ‘minimal’, but that’s the idea, right?
This is an amazing game i just loved it and that sigh that the ghosst gave of you turned around was one of my fav sounds XD
Good job! 🙂
I had fun playing it. Brought back some memories. The twisted ending: He had to leave his body to venture into the underworld as a spirit to retrieve his loved one’s spirit. He comes back to find his dead body and neither can return and they both vanish back to the underworld. But shouldn’t his body be laying down when he gets back? How is it still standing up.
The game is fun but its too challenging especially the dog and the boss. The path when I cross through is a little bit hard and the part when the ghost follow me is a little bit scary. So far so good the game is fun and the graphic need to improve. But fortunately you make the game interesting by not setting the amount of time limit and the amount of life left. Since you did a good job I want to congratulate for the hard work you and your team did. So keep it up!
[…] без неправильных решений, без возможноÑти проиграть. Don’t Look Back продолжает литературные ÑкÑперименты автора, […]
For a first flash game, it’s very great. It’s kept to be as simple as possible and the game play is very similar to ‘I wanna be the Guy’. As for storyline, the plot perfectly fit the atmosphere as the game progresses. The background music and sound effects matched the plot as Orpheus fights against the 3-headed Cerberus and the Underworld God, Hades. However, it’s only flaw is the quick ending that leaves many confused and unsatisfied. People, this game is suppose to be simple, if you’re looking for a game with more features then look elsewhere. In my opinion, “Don’t Look Back” deserves a 9 out of 10 for artistic simplicity.
I’m a french guy and I’m a fan of this game! It’s really great! For information, I have discovered your game with https://www.koreus.com/jeu/dont-look-back.html
Wow. Just wow.
Amazing game.
I loved that.
It was an amazing piece of work. I downloaded it.
The ending was quite dramatic and sad.
The music made quite the impression on me.
i thought your game was very good. if the ending was intelegently played out as you intended it to it was brilliant. iv played evil dead fist full of boomstick to gears of war 2. id hold your last boss to that high standard, so an *.*.*.*.* from me.
this game will leave you with a wary feeling while and long after playing.i know its hard but play through to the end!
and it might just be me i think there’s a lot story
this flash game so make sure to keep an open mind
espesaly towards the Ghost =P
It’s a bit frustrating in places (and I’m sure that was intentional, given the theme!), but once I got to the end, I was left quietly reflecting on the journey to that point.
And I realised that, quite simply, it was brilliant.
I’m impressed at how you managed to evoke the story without any text or speech; the choice of music/sound effects was inspired, Terry. You’ve made a work of art, and thank you for sharing it with all of us.
wow, that game was amazing, can you tell me the story behind it? i’ve completed it and i dont quite understand, does he kill himself or something? or is the man too heartbroken to let his wife leave him so he gets her to take him to heaven aswell?
I just played this over on ArmorGames. Hands down, this is one of the best flash games I’ve played. Period. Proof positive a riveting game doesn’t need anything more than good puzzles and a better story line. Great job.
absolutely amazing. the ending was a real trip
I want the music please
Amazing. Excellent. Great from the first and improving all the way to the end. Original twist at mid-game. Lovely.
It would have been PERFECT for me if, in the ending…
[spoiler below]
your guy vanished… as the other guy turned toward you (and her).
Absolutely awesome. A mix between “Passage” and “Pitfall”
I almost gave up at two stages, the Big Dog and even more frustrating the Devil Boss.. I persevered though and finished to the end of the game!
Nice choice of music! The ending left me thinking, “What the??” But overall it was well done, especially given the simplicity of the graphics.
its fun but its pretty easy especialy the dog. I beat it really fast. Its still pretty fun though.
This is amazing, absolutely amazing. The puzzles you have constructed here are unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and they’re everything I’ve been hoping would be made someday. It is obvious that you put a great amount of thinking into this.
Your work is very inspiring, I can’t wait for more.
Great game. One of the best platformers I’ve ever played!!! No doubt, expand it to commercial length and we have a classic in the making!!!
The Great game! Awesome idea!
Few flash games can keep my interest these days, but this blew me away. So immersive, and nostalgic for me. Like a mix of “Another World” and my old Atari 2600 games 🙂 Had me cursing and swearing at times but felt nice to beat it, just the right length too.
It was linked from 2chan.net, found it by complete fluke, and glad I did now, will show it to all my friends, cheers for creating this!
I think I’ll add on to my previous comment… [Spoilers]
When you’re being followed, at one point you drop down, there are two stalagtites, and there are two passage ways that are not blocked off. Since you can’t look back, you can only go one way… I’m curios about the other way, is it some kind of easteregg? If it is I don’t believe it’s very accessible :(…
Also I found another interesting tidbit. When you meet yourself standing next to the grave, before you get there, hold down space or x, and you’ll be holding your gun out for the short cutscene, which makes it look like a ghost and a guy are robbing a grave mourner :P. If you play a new game you’ll be able to have the gun out too, but you won’t be able to shoot it, which is strange I think…
Actually, now that I think about it, this just might be intentional by the creator. I can already tell its going to take a lot of brain wracking to come up with an explanation about this that makes sense though.
Once again, I am awestruck. I’d given up on platformers, but you have replaced my trust.
Really enjoyed the game, very creative. Reminicant (sp?) of Pitfall and loved the mythology aspect. 2 thumbs up.
Its really interesting how you combine the Orpheus and Eurydice theme in a modern flash game. Keep on doing such great work!
Heh. Anyone want to see if there is a different ending if you don’t lose 1 life?