Well, this wasn't a bad game... but it also wasn't a good game. For me personally, the five best puzzle games are Antichamber, Portal 1, Portal 2, The Talos Principle and The Witness. Of those only Portal 2 is AAA with Portal 1 being more of a AA game. Antichamber is the only indie, while the other two are AA. Why am I bringing this up? Because AAA puzzle games are rare, and because the only thing an indie game needs to make in unto that list is polish. This game does not have that.
Some have complained this is expensive for just two hours of gameplay. Were this Antichamber, a game that you can also finish in under two hours I would vehemently disagree, but this is not Antichamber. The problem with this game is that it lacks polish. It's an incredible achievement for one man, and I'm sure a lot of work went into making it, but this isn't actually worth 12,50 Euros. At 75% off (the price I got it at) it's well worth the price if you're a puzzle aficionado, but at full price there just isn't enough here. IT's significantly better than a lot of other first person puzzle games on Steam, but it's not worth the asking price for what is here.
There is no story and the mechanics are what you see in the trailer so there is nothing to spoil. The game tries, and the environments do make logical sense, there just isn't any one aha moment, any one place the game just clicks or comes together.
I have given positive reviews to game that were technically worse than this because they had some quaint charm that showed the devs really tried, here, while the levels do make it self-evident the developer tried, he tried to hard and not enough at the same time. By making the game as good as he did, while at the same time not making it good enough the developer puts me in a bit of a bing. It's clear there is competence and hard work put behind this game, yet it is also clear that the asking price is too high for the little that is provided.
This could have easily been as good as antichamber had the dev actually persevered but as it stands it's just another mostly forgettable indie puzzle game. I will not be surprised if in a year or two I see this game on steam on sale, go to buy it and realize it's not just in my library but it's a game I've already completed. The gameplay is just that forgettable.
Mr. Rhomas Pettus, I'm sorry I didn't like your game, and I'm sorry I don't think your work isn't worth the price you're asking for. You have talent, but you clearly needed a lot more play testing with different people to make this a better game. I hope you don't get discouraged and do continue making games. Just, you know, maybe go watch Alexander Bruce's GDC talks from a few years back and try finding a large pool of people to test the game on. Testing isn't just for bug finding.
