Recent reviews by electricshrock

Dear developers,

Two and a half years and still no story mode.

No reasonable person would say that is acceptable.

Yes, I have read your updates, where you detail all the R & D you've gone through and stumbling blocks you've encountered in the course of working on the story mode, and as a developer I can understand. But you know what? What you also reveal is that you weren't really ready to release this game in ANY way, shape, or form at the time you did. You didn't have a clear enough idea of what you wanted to achieve or how you were going to achieve it.

You may have had amazing intentions but you weren't being honest with yourself or with your customers,

From a constant, migraine-inducing flicker effect to ugly, pixelated sprites to captions in an angular, inscrutable font, this game is a pathetic attempt to excuse inferior graphics by making it look 'arty', and inferior gameplay by making it seem 'abstract'. Puzzle games are supposed to be a form of meditation but this is so irritating on so many levels you just want it to end.

I played this for a while and... while there's nothing really WRONG with it, I've seen the same kind of concept done much better. The gameplay, for example, is much the same as Naissance - wander a mysterious environment, the purpose of which is unknown, solving abstract logic puzzles. But compared to the elegant beauty of that game, Kairo seems crude, and in some areas not even properly finished. Kairo is kinder to your wallet, but Naissance is a much more worthy investment of time.

For a game with 'permadeath' to be tolerable, even enjoyable, there are three conditions that must be met, in my opinion:

1) Each playthrough must have the potential to be a unique experience.

On this point the game only partially succeeds. There is some small variation in level order, with each level made up of a series of several distinct rooms or 'chambers', which are again randomly selected from a pool. However, many of these rooms are similar and it will not take you long to become familiar with all of them.

2) The game must be relatively short

I've reached the 5th level so far and, although this may be close to the end for all I know, it is still too far in to feel entirely happy about starting again from the beginning.

3) The difficulty must be reasonable and consistent throughout.

Now here is where the game utterly FAILS. For most of any particular playthrough of TOG, the difficulty is ridiculously easy. All you have to do is make sure you keep moving while keeping your finger on the fire button. Most of the 'enemies' in the game are in fact static turrets, that fire a bazillion intimidating-looking missiles in your direction, but at an unfeasably slow pace and with no sense of movement anticipation. Once you have the targets in your sights it is actually a pretty dull experience.

However, due to to a certain portion of the enemies (turrets) spawning in random positions, there is often a moment of frenetic insanity when you first enter a room where you are bombarded from what seems like all directions. In most cases it just takes a split second to figure out where the barrages are coming from, find something to hide behind or which direction to move in to dodge the bullets, and it's a dull cakewalk again. But in that split second, if you find your view blocked by the ostensibly quaint, but actually quite obnoxious and distracting 2D smoke and explosion effects, and happen to run in the wrong direction, you are liable to recieve a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ of damage all in the one moment and DIE. And start again. From the beginning. When it really isn't even your fault.

The game has some quirky humour, plenty of easter eggs to find and a generally appealing steampunk-esque look and feel. But there is no point in this game where you feel your reflexes and cunning have helped you survive. Rather, it alternates between dumb luck when you enter a room and routine clean-up operations once you know where the guns are.

I'd give it about 2-3 hours of gameplay before the novelty gives way to irritation, so not a very good deal.

Just finished ths game, and so far it is the best example of games as art that I have ever come across. So refreshing to not really have to have characters, or a story, or powerups, or a series of objectives... Just an intriguing world to explore; It's features stark, abstract, and sometimes beautiful, it's purpose unknown, and perhaps unknowable. The music is fantastic when it appears and is always tied in perfectly with the aesthetics of your immediate environment.

There are genuine challenges to be found here and there, mostly in the form of abstract logic puzzles, but what the game really strives to create for the 'player' (perhaps 'participant' is a better word in this case) is a series of utterly unique experiences, eliciting awe, wonder, confusion, anxiety and, in smaller measure, but no less memorably, joy. The sheer scale of some of the environments will blow your mind, while others will constantly challenge your perceptions and deny you a clear, point-A-to-point-B objective. It is one of the few games I have played with the maturity to realise the important role that can be played by minimalism. It has its frantic moments, but they are made all the richer by the quiet, meditative chapters that can be found in between.

You could potentially finish the game in 6 or 7 hours, so based on that alone it might be a bit expensive. But in terms of the amount of original ideas packed into one game, it really is excellent value. I can't recommend it highly enough to enyone who wants to experience something unique in their gaming life.