The End Is Nigh casts you as Ash, one of a handful of survivors in a world that has ended. His unlikely goal is to make a friend from pieces of people found along the way, a bleakly comic premise that gives the adventure an unusual emotional target. The journey unfolds through a sprawling platform game in a future populated by decaying, mutant animal-like creatures.
Progress is built around navigating a large collection of levels across explorable chapters. Alongside the platforming, Ash can gather video game cartridges and tumors; the cartridges are playable mini-games, each with its own small achievements. Hidden extras and endings add discoveries to the journey, while the game’s achievement set gives completion-minded players further objectives. These collectibles and diversions make exploration part of the appeal, rather than leaving the premise to carry the experience alone.
Its scale comes from the substantial level-and-chapter structure and the optional collectibles and mini-games, offering varied goals within one player’s campaign. With its mix of challenging traversal, strange scavenging, and a grimly humorous quest for companionship, it has a distinctive identity among indie action-adventure platformers.
