Retrace The Light, Xiaming Game’s new isometric slash-em-up, has gotten me thinking a lot about AI. See, I’m firmly against this decade’s interpretation of AI. Chatbots that will scrape the internet and Frankenstein it together into an answer or an image, copyright be damned. It’s the fundamental death of art. But that’s not intelligence. The AI in Retrace The Light is sentient, even emotional. In many aspects, it’s just like us.
That kind of AI, I’m actually in favour of. I don’t really think that flesh and blood is worth that much, when it comes to sentience. The problems arrive when we tell AI to start helping humanity, regardless of whether other humans actually ask for it. Thus arises the central dilemma of Retrace The Light. An AI that is unquestionably helping, but at what cost? It’s a more and more relevant problem, that’s enclosed in a game that is both smart and good fun.
Actually Intelligent
Retrace The Light centres around Enforcer Decem, an AI construct inside of a wider AI program called ‘Primus’. Decem is part of the ‘Meta Mirror Project’, which is a sort of mental health project designed to eliminate obsessions within humans. So if someone is obsessed with some past mistake, for instance, Enforcers are sent into representations of their mind, called Mirrormazes, to destroy the obsession, represented as monsters called ‘Mirrormares’. It’s an intriguing frame for a story, bringing forward the potential for a variety of environments and raising a whole host of ethical questions.
It’s these ethical questions that form the backbone of the plot. We’re essentially mucking around with people’s brains here. It’s stated explicitly that one subject, at least, became subdued and unemotional at the end of it. They’re productive in society, just no longer themselves. Retrace The Light explores this concept pretty well. Admittedly, it does so in a bit of a dry way. A lot of the collectibles, which are quite important to the central theme, are exceedingly dry reports. Still, the writing on the whole isn’t bad at all.
That’s reflected in the character writing. Decem is joined by a small, but quite diverse cast of characters. There’s Novem, a more outwardly emotional enforcer, Septem, the guarded librarian, Quinque, the technician with a checkered past, and Finis, a branch of Primus. They all have downtime chats with each other, which build the characters up well. I can imagine them all having a drink together, which is a sign of good characterisation. I feel like Decem himself is the only exception. He has amnesia, and we don’t really fill in his backstory that much. Still, he does cultivate a personality by the end.
Absorbingly Intricate
That’s enough rambling about writing, let’s talk about the gameplay of Retrace The Light. At its core, it’s an isometric hack-and-slash. You have light, heavy and special attacks. Movement feels very responsive, and blows feel weighty. The most interesting part, though, is the ‘light trail’ mechanic. When you dash, you leave behind a trail and at the touch of a button you can ‘retrace’ yourself down it. So if an enemy is running behind you, you can retrace behind him and give him a big sword up the rear end.
It works remarkably well. Essentially you lay a trail by dodging, so getting out of combat and then rewinding back in feels very natural, after a small adjustment period. It definitely takes some getting used to, which the boss fights take full advantage of. Bosses have heavy hits that you can ‘dodge’ by retracing at the right time. But you need a trail to do that, so you need to learn to dodge before the attack starts. It’s enough of a twist on the standard combat to keep it exciting. Still, there are some odd balance issues at play. Bosses get very difficult around the middle of the game, but once you’ve stacked up on upgrades, you become quite overpowered.
There was one Orb mini-boss in the mid-game that would take me apart exceedingly quickly, because one mistake was punished by being hit multiple times. The penultimate boss, though? Folded them in minutes. It’s still a checkmark, though. As are the interstitial puzzles. These wring as much potential out of the retracing mechanic as possible. There are even ‘rifts’ that have more challenging puzzles in, with the reward of upgrade points. New abilities are drip-fed as the game progresses, culminating in some teeth-grindingly challenging optional puzzles.
Retrace The Light – Aesthetically Impeccable
Moving back to a surface level, Retrace The Light looks great. It has a very clean art style, which highlights the nice character and boss designs. Crucially, each Mirrormaze you go into feels significantly different, and reflective of its owner. So while one looks quite grey and drab, you quickly learn there’s a reason for it. I do wish the generic enemies followed suit, though. The same small handful of robotic enemies will re-appear often, with no gameplay change either. So they turn from challenging fight into minor nuisance.
Still, I found myself drawn into Retrace The Light. It has a smart central plot, with multiple endings. There are some clear choices along the way, which impact our characters. I wouldn’t say the story is impeccable – it makes a odd meta play towards the end – but it’s definitely above average. Even if the story isn’t your cup of tea, the fast paced combat rewards skilful play and is just plain fun. This is a game screaming for an arena mode. So whether you’re in the mood for some chin-stroking sci-fi, or you just want to hit things and look good doing it, Retrace The Light has something for you.
