Flash game freebie: Give Up, Robot

You know a game is awesome when you’ve just died about a hundred times in the last five minutes but still want to keep on pushing forward to beat the next level, or when the jittery on-screen flashing reaches seizure-inducing levels of crazy but you still can’t look away. With its psychedelic retro style, solid grappling action, and twitch-inducing puzzle gameplay, Give Up, Robot is that kind of game – as much as it brutalizes you for playing, you simply won’t want to stop.

Woken up from a peaceful slumber by a borderline psychotic, passive aggressive computer overlord, the titular robot protagonist in Give Up, Robot is sent on a suicide mission to test a series of trauma-inducing psychedelic obstacles courses. Armed with only a grappling hook, you have to run, jump, and swing through sadistically designed stages laden with death pits, electrified blocks that fry you at the slightest touch, and moving platforms that make your task of surviving all the more challenging. While some stages are basic and can be easily completed with a few quick moves, others are trap-ridden pits of despair designed to confuse and torture you.

Adding insult to injury, every time you die – and you will quite die often – your invisible computer overseer fires off a humorous snide comment. Insults like “you will never win, robot,” and “give up, robot,” are mingled with sarcastic jabs of “super job, robot” and head-scratching additions like “I love you, robot.” Weird stuff. Play it on Adult Swim's games sitehere.

May 13, 2010

Latest in Gaming
GDC The Game Developers logo
Biggest announcements from the Game Developers Conference 2025
FGS Spring 2025
How to watch The Future Game Show Spring Showcase 2025 – and what to expect
Image of the Death Stranding 2 On The Beach Collector's Edition on a purple GamesRadar background.
Death Stranding 2 collector's edition is a sight to behold and here's where to pre-order yours
GDC The Game Developers logo
When is the Game Developers Conference 2025 and why is it so interesting?
Pokemon Legends: Z-A screenshot
Everything announced at Pokemon Presents 2025
Saros screenshot featuring the main character and am imposing monster in the background with a swirling void in its chest and multiple arms with balls of fire
Everything announced at the PlayStation State of Play February 2025
Latest in Features
Kill Team: Blood and Zeal box on a wooden surface
Kill Team: Blood and Zeal pre-orders just went live, and I wish other Warhammer games were this weird
Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.
DC June 2025 solicitations: 10 must-have comics to pre-order this month
Flow
Flow won big as this year's Oscars underdog against Pixar and Netflix, and it's proof of the power of storytelling over dialogue
Yasuke riding through a village looking for Knowledge in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows' prologue is the most gripping in franchise history, but I'm fixated on the tiny details
Naoe blends in among lush trees in Assassin's Creed Shadows while observing Amagasaki Castle from a rooftop perch
After 18 years Assassin's Creed Shadows cracks the ultimate stealth loop with its deliciously dense castles
Naoe perched in front of a castle in Assassin's Creed Shadows
I've spent 20 hours in Assassin's Creed Shadows chasing drip and decor, and it's proving to be my biggest source of motivation in the RPG