When dealing with relatively short narrative adventures I’m always inclined to be cagey on their details, since revealing too much can take away from the experience. With that in mind, I’ll be keeping my thoughts on Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling pretty broad and brief as well.

The most notable thing about the title is its somewhat unusual look. Between its restricted color palette and the way its pixel art is always changing a bit the world seems a bit hazy, and somewhat dream-like in a way. That makes sense because it pretty quickly becomes clear that your reality in the game is capable of playing some tricks on you, which also helps to make you a bit uneasy at times, adding to the ambiance.

Mechanically, everything is much more simplistic by contrast, and if anything perhaps a bit too basic in terms of presentation. That said, I actually appreciate that the different options for actions you can take in any given space are right there in front of you, limiting any confusion or the need to randomly scan around the environment in search of something hidden. I did find that sometimes getting the on-screen option I wanted to select felt harder than it needed to be, but this is a relatively small complaint. 

Since I’m trying to leave the nature of the story and its surprises out of this review, I’ll admit it does make it a little harder to sell the experience as one worth having. I would say that if you’re seeking out a more traditional and predictable story, this probably won’t suit you well as this definitely feels more in line with the indie spirit of doing things a bit differently. If, on the other hand, you’re down for something a bit unusual that may have some surprises in store this may be a great match, keeping in mind its relatively short runtime. There are 3 endings to discover, as well as some additional lore, but whether or not you’ll have the diligence to discover it all will be up to you. Regardless, it’s creative and has a vibe all its own, which I appreciate.