While discussion of challenging platformers usually brings to mind the faster and more intense variety, thinking of the likes of Super Meat Boy in particular, there are also definitely ones on the other end of the spectrum that still pack a punch. Even when you’re not trying to move at a brisk pace, a focus on precision can still deliver the goods, with the gameplay then usually leaning heavily on timing as the key to success. Wake Up, Lia is absolutely a title made in this mold, and though its budget price means that its presentation may not be anything particularly special, if you’re willing to stick with it you will get your money’s worth in aggravation.

What helps this platformer stand out a bit from its fellow budget brethren, is that despite having a pretty basic visual style it’s still distinctive in its darker overall tone. Given that you’ll be helping Lia navigate through a wide variety of lethal traps, it’s no surprise that these environments represent her nightmares, and as you progress you’ll get hints at what has gone wrong in her life that triggered all of this. At the end of each stage though, you’ll be recovering objects that have meaning to her that will help her find her way back to the waking world.

While I wouldn’t quite consider the controls to be tight, based on your rate of movement they’re still quite functional and work well enough. There can be times where some of the trap placement can get awfully picky, and in particular when there are things like spinning blades above you, Lia’s pretty big head can easily be an impediment. For the most part though, that’s not the main obstacle in your way, that would be sections that require very precise timing and movement but also combine more than one set of deadly traps, turning Lia’s nightmare world into yours. I get that this is a precision-focused title, and in that sense a spread in the checkpoints is fair to a certain degree, but when you’ve cleared one brutally-tough section to die facing another, it can feel a little more cheap. Still, if you’re not up for some frustrations, this isn’t the game you should be signing up for in the first place.