Developer: Geometric Interactive | Released: 2023 | Genre: Puzzle, Third Person
What an amazing game to look at. It may look simple in screenshots, but the way it moved and animated the isometric levels and its layers was so beautiful. If you have sometimes wondered what it would be like to play a demo scene production turned into a game – this is it.
The game was centered around grabbing spheres, placing them in holders for teleporting or using their powers. The orange one could be used to walk on spawning tiles, the green one for materialized elevators, and so forth. Sometimes a sphere could get temporary legs for it to follow you around like a dog. Towards the end of the game you have accumulated up to four spheres.
Although the puzzles are not complicated in a manner that requires real pondering, they are sometimes still convoluted in the way spheres require you to think outside the box. Each sphere has its inherent world that you can teleport to when placed in a specific placeholder, and other spheres can be brought into that world and put in temporary placeholders there.
As you teleport back out of the sphere, it now shows one or more colored sphere dots on it, to indicate what’s inside of it. You are eased into needing this to move and swap spheres in order to bring them past bottleneck hurdles. Towards the end of the game this has been dialed up, but at that time you have probably gotten used to it. Aha, it wants me to use that gimmick again.
There are also boss battles. Since you don’t have a sword or a gun to defend yourself, there are lots of puzzle elements instead – but you still have to be move around in a timely manner. Most boss battles have several phases, although most of the demands are slow enough that you have time to react accordingly. That being said, there will probably be at least one of the boss fights that will drive you up the wall.
Pros
- Beautifully crafted puzzle worlds moving like a deliciously layered demo scene production.
- Sphere worlds inside spheres worlds inside sphere worlds requires you to think outside the box.
- Each sphere has intriguing powers that are required to navigate the puzzle worlds.
- The game has a wonderful habit of closing off sections that are not needed to progress.
- Cute helpers along the way – spheres put on temporary feet or a laser zapping drone.
Cons
- You can get really stumped in the first half of the game until you get used to the puzzle ideas.
- Some of the boss fights can be challenging, with perhaps one of them driving you crazy.
I strongly recommend that you use a gamepad.