[h1] DKLS is a free escape room game that proves to be frustrating due to the loose controls and awkward camera angles. [/h1]
[quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41039956/]Please follow my curator Indie Blast! A list of quick games that take under five hours to complete [/url][/quote]
DKLS, or Disassociate Kinesthetic Learning System, is an escape room clone and item collection game set in the barracks of a space station.
You wake up to discover you are in an unknown building and there is no obvious way to escape.
Searching the environment reveals you are in a gamer’s bedroom with a lot of equipment and a machine named DKLS. What is this machine and what does it do? Where are you and why have you appeared here? How can you escape?
All questions that may get answered if you can get persevere with the awful control system and camera angles.
[b] [/b]
[h1]Gameplay Video [/h1]
https://youtu.be/x5Ls-GUtlX4
[h1] 🤔First Look🤔 [/h1]
[quote][b]DKLS[/b] is fun for a while, and is quite clever at hiding secrets and providing a stern challenge, but the control system makes the experience too frustrating to continue. [/quote]
[h1] Exploration [/h1]
I quite enjoyed DKLS for a while. It was intriguing being thrown into an alien environment and wondering why I was there. You aren’t armed with any knowledge and only the environment can provide clues. You start off in a small apartment and can examine certain objects which may reveal a little bit of information about where you are and why. Most items are quite trivial but it was fun opening drawers, cupboard doors and kitchen equipment looking for clues, and of course it is always fun to pull the flush on the toilet. There are quite a few things to play with that may or may not bear fruit, but it was pleasurable to try.
Almost any item can be interacted with, and by that, I mean moved. You can make a complete mess of the room by dragging objects and throwing them air born. After a while, it becomes difficult to move around the room due to the clutter. Why are you throwing items around the room I hear you cry!?
Moving objects is integral. It will reveal hidden items and exits which will expand the game. To be fair, even though moving items is a little cumbersome, you probably could do it a bit neater, but it’s fun to throw your toys out of the pram.
[h1] The DKLS [/h1]
As you expand the playing area you will encounter rooms that need key cards to enter. The only way of getting a key card is to enter the DKLS and disassociate from reality and then complete an obstacle course to win a key. There are quite a few key cards needed so you will need to enter the machine as various different things. The DKLS can only be accessed with a token which can be found hidden around the area. Each token represents a different object. I experienced a person, a cube and a car.
[quote] It sounds quite cool being a different object in a world of virtual reality but the reality is that it was difficult to control and see the environment around you. [/quote]
At the beginning of the assault course, there is an option to change the speed of the object which can help controls but it is very difficult to navigate the course with any skill. The course is presented in first person view, which is fine if you are going straight ahead, but incredibly difficult to see around you and behind you.
To navigate the course, you need to avoid beams of red light that can swirl around you, manifest as gates that open and close, or shutters that move up and down. The courses are quite cleverly designed and offer a real challenge. They all have set patterns, but you can’t stop and gauge their movement, as you never know if you are in a safe spot to stop. By the time you try and look around you are hit by a beam and the camera never reveals a comfortable view for you to plan ahead. The result is that it becomes a mad rush to try and get through the maze of beams which circumvents all skillful attempts.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2618290257
Each object has a different feel when controlling them. For example, the car is very loose. Getting moving is quite slow and stopping takes a while; Whereas being a person is much easier to control as you glide around without any restrictions. I didn’t get a realistic feeling that I was the object in question. Yes, the controls felt different, but I didn’t feel like a cube or a car.
I completed the course with the person token, but got too frustrated with the controls of the car and the cube. I made several attempts but it is what destroyed the fun for me. Without the key cards you cannot progress so I had to quit the game.
Looking at the storefront shows lots of different mazes with some platforming elements perhaps, but I imagine these will be just as difficult to navigate.
[h1] Controls [/h1]
For full disclosure, I hate using the keyboard as a means of control. I find it uncomfortable and annoying, and DKLS only provides keyboard support. I tried mapping the keys using Padstarr with varying success but the game is designed to use keyboard. I played most of the game using gamepad which caused some issues with interacting with items and controlling objects, and had to resort back to keyboard to get the game working properly.
Menus can be annoying as you have to drag the mouse to “Back” to exit. For example, if you accidentally try and turn on the flashlight but don’t own one, instead of nothing happening, you have to navigate a menu option to exit.
On screen there is a menu option containing Missions; Inventory; Map and Config. I couldn’t work out whether this was just a facade of the DKLS or whether I was actually meant to be able to access these features. I couldn’t see how.
All game options i.e., sound, mouse sensitivity, are located within game and accessed by interacting with certain objects.
For example, turning on the radio gives you the option to adjust the in-game music. A little odd but it was fine.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2617076441
[h1] Hidden Objects [/h1]
The game contains lots of opportunities to search for items which are imaginatively hidden and lots of fun to discover.
Moving objects out of the way or interacting with things will reveal notes. These notes have messages on that are sometimes humorous but ultimately only count towards achievements. There are also tokens to find which gain entry to the DKLS.
It will appeal to object hunters, but unfortunately you will need to complete the assault courses to carry on searching which I couldn’t do.
[h1] 🍳 Conclusion🍳 [/h1]
[quote][b] [i]DKLS[/i] is an intriguing idea; Becoming any object you wish in a world of virtual reality sounded cool and I was keen to try each object out. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a feeling that I was that object and the assault courses, which you need to complete to progress, where too difficult due to the controls and camera angles.
I enjoyed the escape room mechanics; Searching around for tokens and notes was a lot of fun but the assault courses prevented any further searching.
The game is free so give it a go and see if you are more successful with the courses than I was. I think you will probably struggle though. [/b][/quote]
