Some games can never achieve accolades better than 'Honourable Mention' no matter how deserving. This year I encountered one such footnote of awesomeness.
Canabalt. You run. You jump. Eventually, you die. Then you start your daring escape all over again.
Why are you running? Where are you running to? What are you running from? The game gives you no such answers, but it's unknowable mystery and stark simplicity evoke a mood and atmosphere that transcends its minimal design.
One button, one techno track, six 'colours' and a single relevant metric: distance ran. And yet this unassuming platformer, devoid of narrative or endgame, demands replay.
In the five days it took for Semi Secret Software to code, they managed to distill the fun and thrill of more mainstream offerings into the purest of forms. Canabalt delivers a complete package that epitomizes the videogaming experience.
But it's a flash game. It's short-lived. It's monochrome. It's casual. It's free. It's not a 'real' enough game to call GOTY.
It's no wonder then, that despite high praise, most of Canabalt's reviews and critiques fall short of actually awarding it with a 'Best Of' honour. No one will dare try to take the leap and escape the norm.
Sometimes you just can't win.
