QWOP
Review

QWOP (2010) is a sports game with a difference. You have to control each limb of your virtual athlete. This changes it from a challenge of hitting buttons to using the touch screen or keyboard to deftly coordinate movement to gain forward motion. It's really hard, but as you get to grips with it, a lot of fun too.

The game was originally created as part of the Programme on the Ethics of the New Biosciences, “One of the things I found with QWOP is that people like to set their own goals in a game. Some people would feel like winners if they ran 5 meters, and others would feel like winners if they inched all the way along the track over the course of an hour. If I had put a social leaderboard or par system in, those people would probably have all quit out of frustration, leaving only the most determined or masochistic players behind."

Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked QWOP 3 years ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 10 months ago.