Rest In Pieces Review: A Terrifying Swinging Game

If you have been following our site, you know that we have taken a keen interest in Rest in Pieces from developer Itatake ever since it was announced a month ago. Its dark, terrifying settings heavily contrast with its fragile ceramic characters to create an eerie feeling that just stands out from so many other games on the market. It also does a good job of renovating the behind-the-back runner formula with its swinging mechanic that has the dolls moving back and forth like a pendulum. Well, Rest in Pieces finally arrived last week, and honestly, it exceeds all of our expectations. The game is straight up unsettling, and that’s not a complaint. We are absolutely loving it.

 
Rest in Pieces Trailer

The nice thing about Rest in Pieces is that its mechanics are very simple. You just have to touch either side of the screen to swing your character in the desired direction and avoid colliding with any obstacles and shattering your extremely fragile ceramic doll. That said, momentum does play a factor here, and you will have to take that into consideration in order to maintain control of how hard you want to swing. If you fail to do that, you’ll find yourself swinging too aggressively and seeing your little doll come crashing down towards an obstacle and there’s absolutely nothing you can do except watch as the poor figure shatters into pieces. Getting a hold of the physics and momentum is one of the best parts of Rest in Pieces, and Itatake really manages to pull it off.

But the thing that makes Rest in Pieces truly great, though, is the way it is presented. As mentioned, everything about this game is creepy, unsettling, and terrifying. You are probably not going to forget the part in the opening level when the giant clown boss honks its horn and your entire screen shakes anytime soon. This is the stuff of nightmares. The eerie music and the heavy juxtaposition in lighting, combined with the shiny, innocent, almost angelic glow of the ceramic dolls is just magnificent. But don’t get the wrong idea, we are not saying that styles are everything in this game and the gameplay is not compelling – it is, very much so in fact. It’s just that all the excellent atmosphere goes a long way in enhancing the experience even further. Just imagine what would have happened if the game had gone for a “cutesy” art style: Sure, it might still be enjoyable, but it definitely wouldn’t have been as memorable as it is right now.

The pay model is pretty well-done too. You can get Rest in Pieces from the App Store for free, but if you choose to do so, the game will come with limited lives that will gradually regenerate over time, and you can watch ads to refill them faster. The nice thing is, developer Itatake also provides a very simple way for you to turn the entire thing into a premium experience if you want to: There’s a one-time in-app purchase that grants you infinite lives, so you can just buy that and forget about the limits of the free game. Even better, a limited time offer is currently ongoing in which you can get that AND a ton of in-game currency for the mere price of just a dollar.

This in-game currency is used to unlock new characters or revive yourself after a failed run (you can revive maximum 2 times per game), and you don’t have to actually spend real money to get it as you can earn it simply by playing. The game comes with a total of 5 environments, each with its own 3 unique dolls, so there’s a bunch of content for you to enjoy here. As mentioned, Rest in Pieces in no way requires you to pay in order to play, so there’s no harm in checking it out. Get it on the App Store now.