David Review

David doesn’t pull any punches. Its blissful, serenely sparse world is populated by multitudes of terrifying two-dimensional shapes, all hell-bent on snuffing the life out of your little box-shaped hero. All you have in your defense are wits and agility, along with a special projectile ability that takes a few seconds to charge. David’s physics-driven rumination on the struggles of life feels almost poignant at times, and its abstract design works mostly in its favor—but the game is also extremely difficult and not for the easily frustrated.

Each of the eight main levels—and another that you can unlock later—is designed to fit its theme. In Anger, a writhing mass of floating white diamonds pursues your hero, periodically firing gleaming darts that hone in on your position. Anxiety puts you in a maze suspended above an altar that shoots dozens of glowing squares upwards. Flee, meanwhile, starts you off defenseless and surrounded by danger, as a mass of ovals gives chase through a winding path.

The dominant emotion through everything, though, tends toward frustration. Each level can be played on one of two difficulties: “Okay” gives you seven hit points, while “Very” leaves you with just one. It’s enough of a challenge just to survive in either mode, but on top of not dying, you’ll need to exterminate your foes by shooting out charged particles—which have only a short range and loop back around to you like a boomerang in a beautiful display of color. Charging a shot involves tapping and holding on the center-point of your avatar (and optionally dragging toward a target), and everything slows down while this happens, granting precious time to plot an escape route away from danger.

Both the tilt and touch screen controls work well for changing direction, though the need to constantly tap the jump button to move higher—something you’ll have to do while charging shots, as well as in normal play—makes the game feel in moments like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time. It gets easier with practice in the Arena mode, which also features a points-based progression system separate from the main game, but David never stops being excruciatingly hard. Thankfully, that difficulty manages to work in its favor, acting as a touching metaphor for the trials of life and the herculean effort it can take to triumph over adversity.

The bottom line. David presents an abstract, dangerous world that’s as tough as it is beautiful and surprisingly emotive.