What is the mark of a good game? Has a game that finishes leaving you wanting more a sign of quality, or is that a sign that the developer hasn't taken their concept far enough? Space is Key by ChrisJeff games has us at Appspy thinking about this, and we'll tell you why soon enough.

In Space is Key you are a moving block. You either move to the left or the right depending on the level, but the goal is the same; reach the star on the other side, and don't die. Blocking your pathway are barriers that you either have to jump over or travel under, and every now and then the game changes things up by giving you faster movement or a jump with a different arc. The game is extremely fast paced with death instantly spawning you at the start of a level again, and a couple of the trickier screens can really put your patience to the test.

Space is key employs a retro aesthetic and pulls it off very nicely. The blocks, barriers and flat color backgrounds remind us of an old Atari title, while each level also has text written on the background either helping you or goading you as you travel screen to screen. The music is a chirpy chiptune number that is quite catchy and fuels the fast pace of the game, though it can get annoying the longer you play, and the mute option is helpful.

Space is Key oozes style from its simple mechanics that build upon themselves to it's cohesive retro production to its fast paced gameplay. It is a stellar game but its big failing is that whole thing is too damn short. While reviewing, the game came to an end in about 10 minutes, where-in the menus were furiously searched for extra levels to no avail. Is our positive impression hampered by thinking that the game didn't fully explore its potential, or would more content have simply been too much and negatively influenced our opinions? Space is Key is worth a play just to try and answer that question.