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Sliding to Gold: A Let It Slide Game Guide


by ava_ked

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Also by repulsives

While wandering through the games room a few hours ago, I couldn't help but notice that my favorite game, Let It Slide, had only five thousand game plays. “Ava,” I said to myself, “this is a travesty. You must do something to get more people playing this nifty game.” And so, with many suggestions on what to include from my friend repulsives, this guide was born. It is intended for both beginners to the game and more seasoned players, and I hope that whatever your experience level, you'll be able to gain something from it.

The premise of Let It Slide is very simple. You play a Snuffly wandering through the perilous Ice Caves (didn't its mother ever tell it not to wander strange caves alone?) and your goal is to make it through three levels filled with falling stalactites, floating Gabars, swinging platforms, icy water, hazardous spikes, and a surprise monster at the end. Oh, and it would also be nice if you managed to collect a few of those shiny green gems along the way.

Oops, did I say simple? Okay, perhaps not so simple. *cough*

One further note before I begin getting into the details: I will be referring to specific points within certain levels by how many gems have appeared in the level thus far, so “three gems into level 1” means the point where three gems have appeared and/or have been collected, depending on your skill level. ;)

Game Controls and Movement

Arrow keys are used for movement, and you jump with the up key. There is no crouching position, sadly, so fans of the Hannah games will have to resist smashing that down button. The levels progress from left to right, with some upward movement along the way. If you prefer to move through levels slowly (definitely recommended for beginners) just tap the key briefly. If you like the adrenaline rush of speeding up and down slopes without stopping, keep that finger pressed down on the right key (but don't be surprised when you smash headlong into a Gabar).

Moving around in this game takes a bit of getting used to. You are running about on snow or ice the vast majority of the time, which are slippery surfaces, so your momentum is going to carry you forward a little after your finger leaves the arrow key. If you need to stop quickly because there's a Gabar looming up, or you're about to execute a swan dive into the water, tap the key of the opposite direction to your movement. Icy surfaces are more slippery than snow, and therefore it will take longer to stop or slow down.

If you're moving down a slope, the Snuffly will continue moving downwards on its own without any input from you, so just worry about jumping at the right time to catch gems above you/avoid Gabars/make it onto a platform etc. If you are moving uphill, then you will obviously have to keep that arrow key pressed down or you'll start sliding backwards.

Aspects of Gameplay

- Gems! These are 80 of these green, sparkly, diamond shaped beauties each level. A running total of how many gems you've collected in that level is displayed in the upper left corner. You do not need to collect every gem to finish the level.

- Red hearts: These represent lives and are also displayed at the top. You get three lives at the beginning of each level, and there are three additional hearts up for grabs at various points throughout each level. This means you have a maximum potential of ending each level with six lives. Extra lives gained from the previous level do not carry over – you will always start with three. Lose all your lives and you die, so try to avoid that. ;)

- The timer is located in the upper right corner. You start each level with 200 seconds, and it counts down from there. There is no penalty if you use up all the time, so if you're a beginner, feel free to ignore the timer completely and take each level as slowly as you need to. Any time remaining at the end of each level is converted to points towards your score.

- Wooden platforms are found throughout all three levels. The moving ones take you up and down. Simple enough, right? Jump on, stay on, and jump off when you need to.

- Icy platforms are very slippery, so be careful not to run right across it and land in the water or on top of a Gabar. Once you land on one, it will disappear after a couple of seconds (and then reappear after a few more) so keep those fingers moving! There are also a few points in the game where the platform is invisible to begin with, and only appears after you've jumped onto the preceding platform.

- Ice blocks first appear in level 2. Once you land on one, it will start gradually sinking, and will also tip to the side if you are not in the center. Jump off these as soon as you can. If you're on a block and need some time to figure out where to move to next, keep jumping up and down at the center of the block. It floats back up while you're in the air, which gives you that needed time.

- Helicopters first appear in level 2. Once you grab a helicopter (it's a little brown helmet) you will fall more slowly if you keep the jump key pressed down. You do need to keep the left or right key pressed at the same time to ensure you're falling in the right direction. Helicopters do not disappear after a certain amount of time – once one is collected, you keep it until you do something that would normally cause you to lose a life, so it also acts as a “shield” against losing lives. This function is important at the end of level 2, which I'll talk about later.

- Boulders. There are a few places where you will have to move around while on a boulder, starting in level 2. As if the ice wasn't enough already, right? Staying in the center means you won't move forward or backwards. The further away from the center of the boulder you are, the faster it rolls. If it’s moving right, tap the left key in order to stay on the boulder, and vice versa. If you want the boulder to stop moving, move back to the center.

- Upcurrents – This is what I call the bluish glowy column of air moving up (marvel at my descriptive skills, I know!) which you first encounter four gems into level 2, after your first boulder. Plop yourself in the middle, press up, and hey presto! you start rising of your own accord.

- Swinging platforms, found only in level 3. To jump onto the next platform, take advantage of its movement. Walk forward while it is swinging forward, and press jump when you're on the right edge. Depending on how far forward you want to jump, you will need to adjust how early or late to jump, and how much of a running start to give yourself. This will take a little practice and trial and error before you get the hang of it (no pun intended).

Hazards

Otherwise known as things that will cause you to lose a life. There are four in total.

1) Gabars and their snowballs. These are the furry white little petpets scattered throughout all three levels. If you touch a Gabar or get hit by its snowball, you lose a life (or your helicopter if you have one). On the bright side, the Gabar also disappears if you bump into it, although as they outnumber you fifty to one I wouldn't advise trying to take out every one you see. They move in a pattern, so if you see one coming up, stop and note its movement pattern. If it's walking back and forth, jump over it while it is moving towards you. If it's jumping up and down, I find it easiest to go under it, although you can also jump over it. It's a little trickier when there are two or more consecutive Gabars jumping up and down, but often the pattern is timed so that you can run under all of them at once without needing to stop and start in the middle.

In level 1 Gabars don't do anything except walk around or jump up and down. By level 2, you get more advanced helicopter-wearing Gabars which float about in the air, and Gabars which fling snowballs at you. By level 3, they've predictably evolved into helicopter-wearing Gabars that also fling snowballs at you. The good news is that their movement and snowball-flinging still have a pattern so you can time your runs and jumps to avoid them.

2) Water. You won't have to deal with it in level 1, but starting from level 2, if you land in the water it's minus one life (unless, again, you have a helicopter). Not much to say here – just jump over the water.

3) Spikes appear in level 3. Again, not much to say – jump over them if you want to keep your lives.

4) Thankfully, there's only one Snowbeast and it appears at the end of level 3. Just like the Gabars, if you bump into it or get hit by one of its snowballs, you lose a life. Unfortunately, it does not disappear if you bump into it.

Scoring

Making it through all three levels alive is no use at all if you only have a measly score of 200 at the end, so let's talk about scoring.

- Each gem you collect gives you 10 points, with a total of 80 gems per level.

- Each life remaining at the end of each level gives you 50 points. As mentioned previously, you start off each level with 3 lives, and there are 3 additional hearts scattered throughout each level.

- Each second remaining on the timer at the end of the level equals 1 point.

- Therefore, your maximum base score per level is 1100 (800 from 80 gems, 300 from 6 lives remaining), for a total of 3300 if you make it through all three levels with every single gem and life intact. Want a score higher than 3300? You're going to have to be a bit less cautious and make it through the levels faster to get those time points. ;)

- If you die during a level, your score will be your total score from previous levels + 10 points for every gem you've collected so far. No points for lives (presumably, you've lost them all) or time remaining.

There will be a summary score sheet at the end of each level which tells you the score you have for that level, as well as your total score accumulated thus far. However, your score is not displayed during the level, so you'll have to perform a little mental arithmetic (or have a calculator handy) to figure out how many points you have at any given point.

Tricky spots

There are a few stages during the game which I consider particularly tricky, and I'll do my best to describe how to get past them. These might not make much sense unless you’ve actually reached the stage in the game yourself.

1) 21 gems into level 2 you're faced with rolling a boulder through water, as well as jumping onto icy platforms above you to get gems. If you're a beginner, skip the gems. Just land on the boulder and do your best to roll to the block across the water. If you want to get those five gems, you'll have to move quickly. Stop the boulder just before the first platform, jump onto it, and another platform will appear to your upper left, followed by a third platform to the right. After you've grabbed all the gems, hop your way down to the first platform, drop down to the boulder, and continue moving right.

2) Immediately after the previous section (or 26 gems into level 2) there is a moving platform with two gems above it, and two jumping Gabars on either side of the gems. Again, if you don't want to risk it, skip the gems and move on. If you can't let go of those 20 points, stop directly under the gems, and very lightly tap up as the platform is moving towards you (from either direction). You should be able to grab the gems without jumping high enough to land on the platform.

3) 35 gems into level 2 you will have to contend with a moving platform and three floating Gabars. There is no way to skip this, unfortunately. If you do not get onto the platform, you cannot jump high enough from the ground to make it past this stage. For the less experienced, the slower way is to wait for the platform to come around a second time before jumping on. Once you're on, jump over the first Gabar, and you can avoid the second and third Gabar by just staying put on the platform (grabbing the gems in the air is optional). To get through this part quicker for those valuable time points, get on the platform as soon as you see it, jump over the first two Gabars one at a time (collecting the gems above them), and you can stay on the platform and float under the third Gabar. Timing those jumps is tricky and might require some practice.

4) At the end of level two (52 gems into it to be precise) there is a series of icy platforms leading up towards the exit. Again, if you only care about making it through the level, just jump up those platforms (be quick, since they disappear), doing your best to avoid the snowballs. Collect your life, and head right and then down to the exit. There is, however, another life heart and some gems to the right of those Gabars flinging snowballs at you. If you still have your helicopter active from a little way back, you can get behind those Gabars without losing a life. Jump up the icy steps, and land any one of those platforms to your right. Depending on your timing, you will either land on a Gabar or you will bump into it while walking across the platform. Either way, you will lose your helicopter (but you won't lose a life), and the Gabar will disappear. From there, you can drop down, collect your extra life and gems, and head back onto the icy steps the same way you came.

5) 31 gems into level three, there will be three gems in the air that you will not be able to get. Continue moving forward through those swinging platforms until you reach a helicopter. After you grab that, go back to those gems, and you should now be able to fall slowly enough from the swinging platform that you can grab them.

6) 53 gems into level 3, you will be hopping about on moving wooden platforms with spikes below you and snowballs flying towards you from the right. Collect as many gems as you feel safe collecting. It is really not worth losing a life to grab four or less gems, considering their respective worth. My general tip is to stay as left of the platforms as you can – the snowballs will not appear until you are within a certain distance of the Gabar.

7) Getting past the Snowbeast at the very end of level 3 is extremely easy if you still have your helicopter. Keep moving towards the edge of the platform just before it, jump as late as you can, and keep that jump key pressed down. You'll sail right over the Snowbeast to the other side. If you don't have your helicopter, you'll have to drop down and time it so that you run under the Snowbeast while it is jumping up. Be careful to avoid its snowballs!

A few general tips

These are mainly tips for more seasoned players who want to cut down their time to get those last few precious time bonus points.

1) If you’re going uphill, it's faster to jump across than to walk your way up.

2) A missed gem is only worth going back for if it will take you less than 10 seconds. Or put another way, if you can save more than 10 seconds by skipping a gem, go for it.

3) You do not have to land on every ice block or platform. If you're moving fast enough when you jump, especially if you're going downhill, you can sail right over one or more blocks or platforms.

4) Keep that right arrow key pressed down as much as possible so that you are continuously moving forward at maximum speed. Obviously you will have to slow down or come to a stop at some points, particularly during levels 2 and 3, but you can race through those level 1 slopes.

5) Not a tip per se, but for those who are curious: a score above 3250 will usually guarantee you a bronze trophy, 3350 a silver, and 3430 a gold if you play on the first of the month. Score requirements will vary from month to month, obviously.

6) Some more numbers for those curious: I usually finish with around 62 seconds left for level 1, 58 seconds left for level 2, and 90 seconds for level 3. Since the game has been released, I've seen quite a few players who can beat my times, so I by no means consider myself a top expert at this game.

Game codes

Typing 'stalactites' (without the quotation marks) will give you an extra life. However, if you already have the maximum six lives, the code will not give you a seventh life or those fifty points at the end of the level. The code is usable once per game.

Conclusion

If you managed to read through all of that, congratulations, and thank you! Like many games, Let It Slide involves a lot of practice before you get the timing perfect, and hopefully this guide has been of help to you. Best of luck, and I hope to see you in the high score table and world challenges.

 
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