Free Solo: One Life

Free Solo: One Life is an endurance rhythm game inspired by the superhuman achievement of American rock climber Alex Honnold.

On June 3, 2017, Alex Honnold did the unthinkable - the first free solo ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Without any sort of gear, Alex completed the 2,900-foot (884m) Freerider route in 3 hours and 56 minutes. It is, in my opinion, and as is echoed by countless others, the single greatest feat of athletic achievement in humankind.

As someone fascinated with the climb and everything it entailed, I wanted to create a game that paid tribute to Alex's inhuman abilities and captured the moment in a playable form. So, I created Free Solo: One Life, a rhythm game that amps up the stakes and asks for complete attention from the player for the same duration that Alex took to complete his climb.

The game is a continuation of my One Life Series with Russian Roulette: One Life and I Am What I Am: One Life. You play a simple rhythm game where with every beat you climb the mountain. For every missed beat, your heart rate increases. Once it reaches 144 beats per minute, your character loses his cool and falls off the mountain. Once you die, like with my other games in the series, you cannot play again.

Disclaimer: I fully realize that translating it into a game to be played in complete safety doesn't hold a candle to Alex's feat. However, this is the best I could do to translate it into the form of a game.

The game includes the following climbs:

1. Cnoc Na Mara, Location: Donegal, Ireland
2. Dent du Geant, Location: Mont Blanc, France
3. Widow's Tears, Location: Yosemite, USA
4. Brandler-Hasse Direttissima, Location: Cima Grande, Dolomites, Italy
5. Chiaro di Luna, Location: Fitzroy Massif, Patagonia, Argentina
6. Via Attraverso il Pesce, Location: Marmolada, Dolomites, Italy
7. Free rider on El Capitan, Location: Yosemite, USA

Notes: The game was released on Steam a few years ago as F2P before it was taken down.