[i]Related games: Mu Cartographer, Mirrormoon EP, Capsule, Scanner Sombre[/i]
It's difficult to recommend this game, because it is very focused on a couple of things, and it doesn't try to do anything else. It doesn't aim to be a fully fledged and satisfied "gaming experience". So if you go in looking for that, like I was (to some extent), you'll be disappointed. But it delivers something unique.
Essentially, this is a roaming game. That's all you do, you roam over a few infinite, abstract landscapes.
What makes it unique is the sound design.
Everything in the world emits its own sound, mostly terrain shape and materials (more on them later) emits a certain sound, plus some more global directional cues.
It's nothing very "in your face", but it makes it quite immersive.
This is not my case, but I've seen the game get quite a bit of attention from "blind" people. It seems to be designed with such accessibility in mind, and that's great - though I cannot judge how well it plays with such constraints. Still, something to keep in mind - it *can* be played mainly through audio cues.
Another central aspect is movement - as you would expect in a roaming game.
Movement is initially very very sluggish, but you'll soon be able to upgrade it in various ways. As you roam, you'll collect materials (little icons that spawn around), and you can use those materials to, say, increase velocity, turning speed, braking, and so on. Eventually, you'll be able to almost fly around and use momentum effectively.
About I must admit I found the movement a bit clunky and unsatisfying. The game almost begs for something more smoother, like the Tribes games, but you won't really find that here (although the upgrades do take you in such a direction after a few hours).
Materials have different rarities, so it may also be frustrating when you're looking for a specific material to upgrade - again, you must shift your mindset to "roaming". You're not really chasing upgrades. You're roaming. The materials and upgrade that come along away are nice, but are not the focus.
There are currently 3 worlds, with slightly different mechanics (different gravity, ruggedness, etc.). Each world also has a different set of materials, and different set of systems to upgrade. These upgrades are shared, however, so although a system may be optimized to move in one world, it will help in the others.
Each world also has some special "landmarks", though, so far, these seem mostly "natural formations". You get an achievement for finding them.
Here's the thing, though: none of these "exploration" or "upgrade" mechanics are very actionable. You don't get cues as to where things are. Materials seem to spawn completely at random (weighted by material).
I'm a person who likes to face a problem, make up a sketch of a plan, and then follow it.
This game says: there is no plan. You simply roam, wander aimlessly. You may or may not find the material or landmark you were looking for. Just sit back and enjoy 20 minutes of almost-emptiness.
It's something we're getting less and less used to in our attention-sucking world. We're always busy with something, every corner hiding a myriad of distractions.
So this game comes as quite... dissonant, initially. It really goes against the mind's grain.
But there is something very appealing about it, if you let go. And there's something valuable in this.
That's about it. I'm not sure whether I will play more of this (too many pressing things clamoring for my attention). But I like what it's doing. I love that it exists. And I'm eager to see what else shiftBacktick comes up with. The game is very unique, if nothing else, and definitely worth trying out.
P.S.: There are some technical issues - like the sound starting to clip and break after 15-30 minutes of gameplay, getting progressively worse. Well, a simply restart will handle it, and it didn't really sore the experience for me.
