LIFTED Review: Getting charmed across time and space.
There is something familiar and nostalgic about LIFTED. Young protagonists, with mentor figures going on an adventure, through space and time. It has that unmistakable spirit of an old-school family adventure, mixed with the kind of 1980s blockbuster movie energy that fills your heart with a nostalgia for the vibes from an era gone by.
Developed and published by Adventure Works, LIFTED launched on PC through Steam on July 22, 2026 The game comes from the mind of Jeffrey Ashbrook, a former Disney Imagineer whose credits include Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run an interactive ride experience in Disney's Star Wars theme park. That background bleeds through the presentation of Lifted. The game understands spectacle, knows when to pull the camera back, and when to speed things up in order to make a simple little platforming mechanic, feel like part of a much bigger adventure.
What Is LIFTED?
Lifted is a (mostly) side scrolling platform game. You play as Ari Buktu, a high school student who is mostly interested in getting some extra credit. His plan goes sideways when he becomes involved with his physics professor, Lionel Raventhorpe, and the professor's time machine, appropriately called the Anytime Elevator. Much like those famous duos such as Marty & Doc or their R rated versions Rick & Morty, Raventhorpe isn't exactly trying to save the world and is rather lost in his own needs and wants. In this story , he wants to travel through history to find the legendary Tiara of Nefertari as a gift for Dolores Barton, the history teacher he secretly loves.
Naturally, things don't go according to plan. Ari, the professor and Julius the pet chinchilla are sent bouncing through history, visiting places such as ancient Egypt and pirate-era Tortuga while dealing with some very colourful villains along the way.
Gameplay
At its heart, LIFTED is a cinematic 2.5D puzzle-platformer. The movement takes place largely across a two-dimensional plane, while the 3D environments and constantly moving camera make everything feel much more expansive and dynamic. Based almost entirely around platforming there are also sequences of racing and dodging action. No matter what though, the game clearly relies on your reflexes and the need to learn the rhythm of a particular challenge, especially when you are pressed for time while climbing, swinging or ferociously navigating an escape sequence. Though the game is not extremely difficult, I did lose my share of lives while figuring out the timing of certain sections. Thankfully, LIFTED has generous save and checkpoint placement, so dying usually means getting another chance at the tricky section rather than replaying a huge chunk of the level and dealing with repetition. You try something, fail, figure out what the game is asking you to do and then give it another shot. The checkpoints make that process much less frustrating, and I appreciated that immensely.
Ari also quickly gains a few other tools, such as the grappling hook, allowing you to swing from anchor points and interact with the environment in different ways. Other areas introduce new traversal mechanics, including wall-jumping abilities, giving each part of the adventure its own flavour.
The puzzles are generally approachable as well. LIFTED is clearly designed to reward making the challenge and progress forward, rather than trying to punish you with brain-melting puzzles. This makes it a great entry point for players who might not have much experience with the genre.
Presentation
When I first saw LIFTED, I wasn't entirely sure what to make of the character designs. Ari and the Professor have floating hands and feet with no traditional limbs connecting them. There is definitely some Rayman DNA here, Not only in the fact it is a platformer , but also the character design which feels like it took Rayman and combined it with a LEGO Duplo-like playset.
But even with the mesmerizing backgrounds, the characters have an exaggerated cartoon quality that fits the game's tone perfectly. Their movements are expressive, and their silhouettes are easy to recognize. The environments are where LIFTED really shines, though. The game moves between dramatically different locations and manages to give each one its own visual personality. Ancient Egyptian settings, tropical pirate locations and, my favourite, snowy environments all provide something different to look at. The camera work deserves special attention as well. LIFTED frequently uses cinematic camera movement to make relatively straightforward platforming feel much bigger than it actually is , though at times it could throw me off a little as there is no manual adjustment to the angle the game gives you. These camera swings really help make the game smoothly transition into a cinematic experience. A simple run can suddenly become a chase scene, a collapsing environment or a full-blown cinematic escape. That Imagineer background makes a lot of sense here, this is not just a videogame puzzle platformer, this is a thrill ride.
The game also comes with fantastic sound design, which to me is probably the best part of the game. The voice acting is excellent, with Joe Gaudet delivering a great performance bringing Ari to life, not surprising as he also has an excellent MArty McFly impression in his repertoire. Ray O'Hare voices Professor Raventhorpe and finds the right level of crazy, but brilliant mind who is too distracted by selfish details to see the bigger picture of things. The bantering back and forth between these two main characters throughout the game is a delight. Even during the calm moments of the game they add background, life and story which helps make the world believable and real. There is a sense of personality between the characters, and the performances help sell the game's goofy humour and more heartfelt moments. The supporting cast deserves credit as well. Their performances give all of this worlds inhabitants personality and make them memorable.
The music is another highlight. It fits the cinematic adventure tone beautifully and does a fantastic job of making the game's big moments feel even bigger. There is a real sense that Adventure Works wanted LIFTED to feel like an animated adventure movie rather than simply another platforming game.
Quirks and Oddities
I encountered some small glitches and awkward animation moments during my time with the game. Some character animations can look a little strange, particularly during transitions between gameplay and cutscenes. There are moments where characters appear to pop into position or where an animation doesn't quite communicate what Ari is doing as clearly as it should. The platforming can also occasionally feel a little awkward when the animation and timing don't quite line up with what you're trying to accomplish. I was even able to lock myself into a secret room that held a mirror but mistiming my lever pull ( WRONG LEVER) and I had some noticeable mishaps during some of the climbing and swinging sequences. None of this ruined my experience though. I noticed, laughed if off, reloaded a checkpoint and then kept playing. The important thing is that the game underneath those few rough edges is genuinely fun
My biggest complaint about LIFTED is also one of the easiest to understand. It is short, I wanted more. The game's big cinematic sequences are some of its strongest moments, but they often end just as I was getting comfortable with the ride. The adventure feels like it has plenty of ideas that could have been expanded into larger levels or additional sequences. But at the same time, I don't think the shorter experience helps the game more then that is hurts.
LIFTED feels like a concentrated adventure. It doesn't drag things out with filler just to make the game longer. It gets you into the story, takes you through its various locations, gives you new abilities to play with and then brings the adventure home. There is something refreshing about that.
Final Thoughts
I really enjoyed LIFTED. It is colorful, funny, cinematic and full of personality. The platforming can have challenging moments while you're learning the rhythm of a particular sequence, but the generous checkpoints make those failures much easier to swallow. The puzzles are approachable, the environments are beautiful and the voice acting and music are some of the game's biggest strengths.
Yes, there are some technical glitches. Yes, a few animations are a little strange. Yes, the character designs look like Rayman wandered into a LEGO Duplo factory, but the game knows exactly what kind of experience it wants to be.
Lifted isn't trying to compete with the hardest platformers on the market. It isn't trying to deliver a hundred-hour open-world adventure. It wants to give players a fun, family-friendly, cinematic time-travel adventure with memorable characters and a healthy dose of nostalgia.
Whether you are someone who who simply enjoys a good old-fashioned feel-good adventure Or you are a parent looking for something they can play with the kids, LIFTED is an easy recommendation.
Sometimes a game doesn't need to reinvent the time machine. Sometimes it just needs to give you a good reason to climb inside and strap in for the ride.Developer: Adventure Works L.L.C.
Publisher: Adventure Works L.L.C.
Genre: Action, Adventure, Indie, 2.5D Platformer
Release Date: July 22, 2026
Platform: PC via Steam
Price: $19.99
DadGeek (Rob) is the co-founder of GeeksVsGeeks. He is a product of the eighties and never let go of his geek interest and hobbies no matter how often someone told him to stop. His love for gaming and all things geek has been part of his parenting style and permeates throughout the whole family. A family of Geeks vs Geeks.
