Tag Archives: Spasms

Chasm Spasming

I found this great little counter-game a while ago called Chasm Spasm. Before you read anything I have to say about it, go play it. It only takes a couple minutes.

Chasm Spasm begins looking like any platformer-adventure game, and looks like it will be one for the ages. Then as soon as you try doing anything when the game starts, you fall into a chasm. How do you get out?! Press buttons frantically to try to figure it out. All you do is… spasm. Hence the name of the game. But you get such things as extra points, “ocelot bonuses,” and “SQUIDSTORM!” Really, you’re playing the game by failing to play the game.

I’m not going to pretend this game has any super deep meaning. It’s mainly just a humorous look into what people expect from games based on prior experience, and how to deal with games that seem “broken.” We realize that our expectations for Chasm Spasm are based on tons of other games that look like it, and when it’s not what we expected, we freak out.

I wonder if someone who’s never played a 2D platformer game would find Chasm Spasm not nearly as bewildering.