The spirit of Crash Bandicoot lives on in “the most ruthless indie linear 3D platformer ever made,” which has already killed me 71 times in a single level

The developer behind PsiloSybil describes it as “the most ruthless indie linear 3D platformer ever made,” and after spending an hour dying nearly 100 times in the opening stages that make up the game’s demo, I’m convinced they’re probably right.

PsiloSybil is heavily inspired by Crash Bandicoot – if the tunnel-like stage design and PS1 aesthetics didn’t give it away, the opening cutscene’s references to “Aussie Rat” and the Crash-coded “marsupial” skin for the main character probably will. The game’s gorgeous in its psychedelic ’90s way, complete with wonky textures and a perfect recreation of analog video signals – which is, of course, optional if you hate fun.

The game’s been in early access for some time and has developed a solid fandom over that time – more than 100 90% positive Steam reviews is nothing to sneeze at for a game of this scope. Alongside the 1.0 release, developer bad_vertex tweeted that this is “the most ruthless indie linear 3D platformer ever made,” and while you might think that’s hyperbole it seems the branding is well-earned. 

The game – and the free demo you can grab on Steam – opens with a deceptively straightforward stage. I died just a couple of times. The second level ramps up the difficulty quite a bit, with loads of moving platforms, deadly Amazon delivery drones, and teensy venus flytraps that’ll kill you if they snatch your ankle. On this stage, I died maybe a dozen times.

Then came level 3, a dark gauntlet filled with moving platforms easy to lose sight of in the dim shadows, light prisms that’ll kill you if you’re standing on them when they shine, and ice blocks that shatter after a single step, sending you bouncing into the air. I died here a lot. The game effectively tempted me into going off the beaten path to grab the collectables, and by the time I realized how devious the stage was going to get, I’d already committed to grabbing everything. All told, I hit the game over screen 71 times in this level alone.

It was, of course, only after I finished the demo that I saw bad vertex’s tweet warning dorks like me that “if you try to 100% on the first run, you’re gonna have an awful time. It’s just not that kinda game.” Well, now I know. And I’m hooked, at that. There are a few bits of PsiloSybil I found genuinely frustrating – it’s a little too hard to see your shadow while judging jumps in the uber-dark stage, for example – but the borderline masocore challenges are compelling and bite-sized enough that I wanna see everything the game has to offer.

There are a whole lot more indie delights in our list of the best Metroidvania games.