Before I Go

About

Before I Go is a single player open world platformer game with fantasy and dark fantasy themes. It was developed by J's Labratory and was released on April 13, 2026. It received very positive reviews from players.

Explore the haunting, dreamlike fantasy world of BEFORE I GO, a punishing Metroidvania where you embody the innocence of an inner child on an allegorical odyssey towards death acceptance. The end is inevitable, but will you brave the journey? The world is old and unwell. An ominous affliction has left every living soul weak, terrified and helpless before despair. But this paralyzing infestation h…

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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92%Audience ScoreBased on 39 reviews

gameplay8 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

Tight, responsive, and smooth controls that make the platforming feel satisfying and fair.
Great platforming design with challenging but well-balanced precision platformer segments.
Strong atmosphere with lovely art style and calming music that enhances the exploration experience.

Endgame platforming difficulty and certain mechanics can feel punishing and frustrating, especially with some sloppier control moments.
Long backtracking and limited fast travel points make navigation cumbersome at times.
Combat feels somewhat simplistic or clunky compared to platforming, with bosses often considered easy or lackluster.

gameplay
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
43%
The gameplay is widely praised for its smooth, innovative mechanics and enjoyable platforming, drawing comparisons to Hollow Knight and Metroid with a unique twist. It offers a smart, captivating experience with responsive controls and a strong emphasis on gameplay over story. Overall, it delivers solid performance and engaging gameplay that appeals especially to Metroidvania fans.
- “Awesome game with really cool, borderline innovative mechanics.”
- “Platforming and mechanics feel great.”
- “For metroidvania enjoyers (and for all): if you value smooth gameplay and solid performance, this is a must play.”
graphics
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
45%
The game's graphics feature a beautifully polished 2.5D art style with stunning visuals that evoke a sense of loneliness and atmospheric depth, reminiscent of titles like Super Metroid. The diverse environments, from dark caves to sky heights, combined with lo-fi lighting effects and a fitting soundtrack, create a magnificent and immersive aesthetic experience.
- “The 2.5D art style is beautiful, somewhat reminiscent of Grime or Mobius Machine.”
- “It plays super well and the aesthetics of the game and surrounding world is really magnificent, ranging from dark caves to sky heights and many more.”
- “Most of the game occurs in the setting of a huge cave, and it manages to give some 'lo-fi' aesthetics with both the music and the lighting effects.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music is widely praised for its calming, minimalist, and atmospheric qualities, effectively enhancing the game's sense of loneliness and exploration. Many find the soundtrack enjoyable and suitable for extended play sessions, often noting its similarity to "lo-fi" vibes and its contribution to the overall immersive experience.
- “The art style and music create a sense of loneliness similar to Super Metroid.”
- “Music and OST were pretty nice and calming, allowing for hours of exploration without getting bored; I didn't mind listening to it the whole time during the playthrough.”
- “The music is easy to listen to and may add them to my playlists as they are calm and focus-inducing.”
story
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The story is brief and surreal, centered around a cryptic lore involving gods, architects, and a spreading plague, with a subtle intimate narrative focus. While some find a meaningful world-building effort, many feel the plot lacks depth and engagement, serving more as background to the gameplay rather than a compelling highlight.
- “Most important of all, I have the feeling there is meaning to the world and the developer tries to tell an intimate story that's quite clear from the beginning when a mother-like figure tries to comfort you. Still, it's up to you to make it through the end.”
- “The game presents you with the story of old architects and gods and how some kind of plague is taking over the world, and you are just a chosen survivor to disrupt the chaos.”
- “There is a story (that mostly went over my head), but gameplay is king here.”
- “The story itself wasn’t captivating enough for me, and I feel that it was saved (and mostly ignored) by the gameplay and how smooth everything feels.”
- “I didn't pay a lot of attention to the story, but it's told in brief, surrealistic dialog with NPCs that you periodically encounter.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its unique, intriguing, and often bizarre world, complemented by a minimalist soundtrack and distinctive visual style. Despite occasional stiffness in presentation, the hostile and immersive environment enhances the overall experience, balancing challenge and mood effectively.
- “I love the world's atmosphere, the characters are strange and intriguing.”
- “Before I Go is an unapologetically difficult but remarkably fair precision platformer with wonderful visual style and atmosphere.”
- “Finding a Metroidvania that strikes the right balance between good atmosphere and comprehensible challenge is no easy feat, especially when it’s the work of a single developer.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The game is highly optimized, delivering smooth and rock-solid performance even on older laptops, with no bugs or frame drops reported.
- “I played on an older laptop with zero performance issues.”
- “Atmosphere is great, music was solid, performance was excellent.”
- “Rock-solid performance: I played the entire game without a single bug or frame drop.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The character development is praised for its unique designs and cryptic dialogue, which add depth and personality to an otherwise generic game. However, enemy designs are considered underwhelming and less engaging.
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the grinding aspect tedious and suggest adjusting the pricing or availability of purchasable checkpoints to better balance the challenge and reduce repetitive play.