A one-of-a-kind experience of visual storytelling
By Badass Mongoose. Available on PC & Nintendo Switch.
When I first saw this game, I was immediately excited — I love puzzle games, and the art style was incredible, giving off dark Hollow Knight vibes with a sci-fi twist. Once I actually started playing, the art style enthralled me even more, and the way the story is told solely through it gave the game my undivided attention. The overall experience is a combination of unique game mechanics, amazing environments, and a standout visual narrative.
Story & World
At the start of the game, the MC wakes up in a strange place — it may be familiar, it may not be, as the MC looks quite strange themselves. Waking up with no memory is a common trope in video games, but the story that follows is unique enough to earn it.
As you explore this seemingly alien world, it feels like a combination of prehistoric, retro, and futuristic features all at once, with steampunk undertones running throughout — at least in my opinion. You see huge larvae and spiky crabs; the buildings look like seashells on the outside, while inside they’re a mix of factory machinery and an ancient-ruins aesthetic.
One of my favourite parts of this story is a character I’ll refer to as “the stranger.” In a world full of monsters, they’re the same as you — but as you progress, they act as your foil, seeming to do everything they can to sabotage your progress. And yet, in doing so, the stranger also acts as a guide: they demonstrate abilities you won’t come across until later in the game, and they block certain paths in a way that implies the blocked route is exactly the direction you need to follow. I love this character — whether they’re opposing you or guiding you, they’re clearly key to whatever lies at the end of your mysterious path.
There isn’t much more I can say about the story without spoiling it. The journey to its conclusion is as thrilling as it is perplexing, but by the end, everything falls into place and makes sense.
Gameplay
The gameplay here is exactly what it says on the tin — a puzzle game. As you progress, you unlock various abilities. The cage lets you catch creatures and bring them along with you, while the drone is a small, summonable entity you can telepathically guide to places you can’t otherwise reach. Each of these abilities comes with trials attached, and you have to use them — and combinations of them — to progress and eventually master them all.
I really want to commend the uniqueness of the gameplay here, and how directly it ties into your progression through the world. You start with a set of basic abilities — block, hook, drone, cage, and sandglass — each unique on their own. Once you’re able to equip two at a time, though, you unlock combinations that open up even more standout mechanics and creative ways to solve puzzles.
There’s more to this world than puzzles, too. You can find clues scattered around that help you understand more about the world and its story — even after the hours I’ve put in, I still don’t have the full picture, since I’ve got scraps left to collect. Each piece contributes to a fuller image, adding more context to your journey.
The last gameplay mechanic I really enjoyed was the minigames. In this mixed-up, ancient sci-fi world, there are computers that the stranger uses to thwart your progress — locking doors, moving bridges — and the only way to undo this is to use the computers yourself. Doing so drops you into an 8-bit-style minigame, dodging enemies and jumping obstacles to reach the stranger; complete it, and you undo whatever they’d done. The best comparison I can make is something like Donkey Kong — there are several difficulty levels, and I got sidetracked playing through all of them for a good hour.
Art Style & Sound
The art style is one of this game’s major selling points, and I found myself constantly admiring the atmosphere of the world. The creatures in the background, and the use of texture, shading, and depth, are so effective that I was well over an hour in before I even realised the game is entirely black and white. The style is used so expertly that everything feels alive and dynamic — I simply didn’t miss colour, and honestly, I think adding it would only hinder the experience.
As the story unfolds, you come to realise that you and the stranger seem to be the only intelligent life in this world. Beyond following the stranger and testing your abilities, what’s actually driving the MC forward is never fully explained — it feels almost like pure curiosity. That makes the choice of low, sci-fi-tinged background noise feel simple but effective; it adds to the emptiness of the place you woke up in, and reinforces that you’re not chasing some big villain — you’re just exploring the world around you.
Overall, I was enchanted by this world’s art style and hand-drawn feel. Early on, I said it gave me Hollow Knight vibes, but that comparison doesn’t really do it justice — both games share a hand-drawn style, but the only reason I brought it up is that both are unique enough that they don’t really have any other point of comparison.
Value & Verdict
The price is £13.75, which feels more than fair for what’s on offer. I got four hours out of my first playthrough, but I know I’ll be going back for more, since there’s still plenty of the world left to discover — and I suspect it’ll make the ending land even harder. I’d absolutely recommend this game to anyone. The world, the characters, and the art might each seem simple on their own, but combined, they build something truly one-of-a-kind. I’m giving it a 9/10.
