I have played it actually, but I didn't get very far. Made it to the first boss but didn't get around to progressing further; it's something I can only handle in small chunks and burnout is so incredibly easy on this game. Really, it came down to me deciding I don't hate myself enough to keep going. I have seen speed runs; I know what the player is up against. It doesn't help, not one iota.
It's actually a neat little throwback to an age where video games were actually challenging by both (bad) design and plain 'ol difficulty, where pixel-perfect jumps were required to progress across a simple stage.
Honestly, IWBTG is an exercise in masochism. You will die. You will die a lot (we are looking at +100 numbers. The game keeps score). This is not a game for one who is unfamiliar with the classic games this monstrosity references. While those games felt like they were trying to kill you, this game is actually trying to kill you. It goes out of its way to do it. It is not hard. It is video game hell. You will rage; it was designed to make the player rage.
That said, it's immensely fulfilling when you manage to surmount the endless odds against you. If you feel like you're up to the single most devious challenge in video game history, this is it.
