Browser game of the week: Give Up Robot 2

We know the deal: You’re looking for ways to waste time at work, and we’re here to help you waste it. Hence, Browser game of the week, where we’ll comb the depths of the Flash game vortex and pick different games for you to waste away your Wednesday with. We’ll do our best to feature a wide variety of picks, from click-happy puzzlers to artsy showboating. Our pick this week goes to Give Up Robot 2

There is one thing that needs to be said about Give Up Robot 2 before we even start: it’s really hard. Okay, now that’s out of the way, we can get started. You play as a robot who is programmed with the ability to jump and grapple. It seems simple right? You move across the screen, jumping around, grappling things — it’s like Bionic Commando with an adorable robot. The difference here is it’s far more unforgiving than you’re used to with a casual game, and some of the puzzles will wrack your brain for a while longer than you’ll like to admit.

Throughout your adventure across 60 levels, you’ll run into electrified walls, fans of death and bottomless pits. Once you battle your way through the 60 stages, which include three boss battles, you’ll open up the hilariously termed, “hard mode.” A better name would probably be “impossible and you suck at games… mode.”

Like a lot of similar flash games, this one utilizes a one-screen per level trick. Some are more puzzle-heavy than other, but they’re all challenging on some level. Thankfully, programmer and creator Matt Thorson is damn good at what he does, so while you’ll be tempted to scream and yell at your screen, you can’t blame the controls.

The excellent level design, brilliant score and ridiculous challenge, makes Give Up Robot 2 a perfect way to waste your afternoon. Just take it from us — you might need to meditate between stages.

Play it here.