Going Up Review – “An elevated form of gaming”

  • A puzzle game about elevator management
  • Use your quick touch and thinking to move people efficiently
  • Rely on the RNG to get you the people and points you need

Don't think too much about elevators or you'll realize they're literally big metal boxes suspended precariously over a pit of NOTHING. Even with that in mind, many of us depend on elevators throughout the day, whether it's to get to different floors of the office or our apartment buildings.

However, there is a hidden chaos surrounding them that Dylan Kwok has brought to the surface with Going Up. It is a fixed perspective 3D puzzle game where you have control of all the elevators in the building. This means that people will not get to the floors they need without your help and you will see if the game is level.

What's going up?

The ground floor with Jerry.

Have you ever wondered what those names on elevator signs really do? Going Up doesn’t answer that question, but it might put you in one of those shoes. You’re an Otis, but with a semi-omniscient twist: you can manage all the elevators in a zone.

These elevators seem to rely solely on your input, which means that all the people are at the mercy of your elevator control. Of course, that doesn't mean they won't get impatient while waiting, which is why you have to be efficient. Only you know what's going on and what's happening.

High going up

Looking at the green floors.

There’s a limit to what you can do with something as simple as an elevator—this isn’t Willy Wonka’s factory, after all. However, Going Up manages to turn them into something fun to play with. The premise is simple: move elevators and help different people get where they need to go.

All you have to worry about is knocking on the elevator doors, but you'd be surprised how much it sucks you in. You're at the mercy of how fast the elevators move, so every time you press a door, you're gambling that you've timed it right to meet the person when they arrive.



Elevator restrictions aren't the only challenge when trying to complete the different floors: people are too. Just like real-life customers, these elevator passengers are impatient, demanding nothing less than perfection, and showing no gratitude when it's granted (unless you want to count the dots that appear above their heads).

There are no instructions, so you have to figure out how each type of person behaves when waiting and in the elevator. It's a matter of deciding who has priority – and if Jerry shows up, well, you have to take care of Jerry.

Going up, going down

The person begins to lose patience.

While Going Up is a fairly solid and tight game that is easy to learn, there are still some issues that weigh it down. The biggest is the large amount of RNG. Each level challenges you to collect three stars while earning a total of 40 points. Sounds doable, but remember Jerry?

He's the caretaker, he's important, and he MUST get where he needs to go. This is a reasonable requirement, but Jerry takes up an entire elevator and quickly drains your points the longer it takes you to get him where he needs to go. He also finishes the level when you deliver him three times, but you can't control when he shows up.



Again, this wouldn't be a problem, but you're depending on the RNG to give you enough people to get points. If Jerry appears before enough people get to the right places to get the speed bonus, then you basically have to start over. Some levels start with people appearing in places that make it impossible to get the speed bonus, which is another reason to try again and hope the elevator gods are kinder next time.

The only way is up

The upper levels lit up in neon.

Going Up is a 3D puzzle game where you have to control a series of elevators in a motley skyscraper to get people to the right level as quickly as possible. It’s fast, simple, solid, and challenging in a way that feels possible enough to keep you engaged.

Still needs to work on balancing the power of Jerry's presence and the RNG for the people that appear. As someone who's afraid of elevators, I still enjoyed moving a bunch of digital people up and down the levels of a skyscraper that could serve as a resort, club, amusement park, and space facility all at once.

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