KNIGHTS

Developer: Arzola's
Publisher: Arzola's
Release: 2016
Platform: PC
Genre: Puzzle

Veteran Chess players could, at first glance, dismiss dropping money in a game built upon the mechanics of a single piece--specially when "full real deal" versions are so abundant (and frequently free); in the opposite corner of the board some Queen's Gambit-fueled newcomer, eager to dive below the waterline, could get to the same conclusion for completely different reasons. Both groups wouldn't do themselves any favours in doing so though.

In fact the knights that lend the game its title easily make up for a dozen hours worthy of puzzle cracking--and then some more--entirely on their own.

Second-naturing "L"s

By tackling those puzzles at a comfortable pace--the game not only allows that but also encourages the player to do so with its "light unlock" system--fresh apprentices will be able to start glimpsing through the most erratic and unpredictable strategies in the game through focusing solely on the piece that usually carries them out; and growing capable of making their movement patterns second nature as the game progresses can be rewarding enough per se.

Seasoned players will be able to improve just as much by solving the final Level Packs--or even by taking advantage of specific scenarios that always have the potential of tricking players that are yet to experience such situations in real-life matches.

The elegant presentation (both graphics and sound wise) and the infinitely expandable "Daily" mode that comes after the curated campaign puzzles--all under a low price tag--make KNIGHTS a no brainer for any player (regardless of their experience) interested in the game.

Fortix 2

Developer: Nemesys Games
Publisher: Nemesys Games
Release: 2011
Platform: PC
Genre: Puzzle

With the first Fortix iteration Nemesys Games gave Taito's original take on the arcadey "capture" puzzler a fantasy spin and took advantage of the setting in favor of a couple mechanics twists, like capturing catapults or using conquered territory as cover against watchtowers' fire--in a way adding a layer of tower-defensing to the long forgotten formula. It never achieves Qix's level of tension (much due to the original's unmatchable surreal sci-fi thematic), but it fares well enough in what it was intended to--even if the Flash indie aesthetics don't get to sell it well.

Fortix 2 builds upon every corner of its predecessor's foundation, and it's mostly for the better: the game's presentation (and overall mood) is still casual, but several notches up regarding art direction; new enemies/power-ups are introduced at a more fine-tuned pace, lending the game a solid feel to the experience as a whole; and the same can be said about levels design, with the handcrafted walls/keys mechanics--despite the fact those sacrifice some of the player's freedom in favor of a more heavy-handed gameplay flow.

The art direction overhaul ups the game a couple notches.

On top of the meatier main game, the extra content is what really makes Fortix 2 unmissable for players interested in such a specific premise. Several difficulty settings (with specific related achievements), an extra hidden mode that changes the gameplay in meaniful ways, valuable Steam Trading Cards, plus the entire first game (reskinned with the modern assets) available as a post-game unlockable make Fortix 2's value hard to pass.

FTL: Faster Than Light

Developer: Subset Games
Publisher: Subset Games
Release: 2012
Platform: PC (played), iOS
Genre: Roguelike

It took me some time to realize The Kestrel (the very first ship available in the game) could only get me so far. After dabbling with a cautious approach (and most of the times becoming a dry floating coffin, waiting for the wave of enemies to find and finish us), an aggressive approach (only to be rewarded less often and less profusely than desired for the aggressive stance to pay off) and a case-by-case mix of both (eventually getting sucked down in an uncontrollable spiral of bad events after the inevitable unlucky strike) I decided to step back and check the game’s options before jumping straight into it. Only then I got to the screen that displays the list of ships the game would be playable with, and only then it hit me that The Kestrel was only the first of eight in a linear tree of unlockable (under particular circumstances) vessels.

Acknowledging that I didn’t even start to scratch the game’s surface and armed with (besides the experience of failing in several ways--“dying is funny”, one of the in-game random hot tips say) the knowledge that a new ship would be unlocked if I could at least reach level 5 I went for a confident “coward” run: sneak through the less-dangerous path towards the next less-dangerous sector, focusing on surviving enough to escape, escaping enough to repair at stores and that was it. Of course, as with everything in the game playing against the odds is the norm; so once I got a favorable chain of green (the theoretically more friendly) sectors I managed to open that can--alongside one of those 1.8% achievements, “I don’t need no stinkin’ upgrades!”, for reaching level 5 without any of them.

Another whole round of defeats ensued aboard The Torus (the Engi Cruiser), but many more things were learned in the process: the advantages of Ion devices (and lighter/faster weapons) and the reliability of drones were among them, but the most important one by far was becoming more aware of the biological/political environment around me. Being a human in the game (“common and uninteresting” according to the game’s lore) bears much resemblance to being one in real life: ditching anthropocentrism (or even more mundane selfishness for that matter) requires work and it’s not simply there by design.

So I started to actively seek a more diverse crew to learn about and play to their strengths/weaknesses. Using Engi as remote hackers (besides their everyday knack for fixing local wares) proved an invaluable way of avoiding blowing stuff up, for instance. I also learned to love the Zoltan for their natural energy flow--even making up for a power source within the room they’re deployed to in case of a lack of a proper resource to get the job done. The slow but impervious-to-fire Rockmen could be useful when fighting flames within the ship, for instance. But one of my gameplay sessions unexpectedly morphed into a proper piece of plot through a Mantis addition to my crew.

I’ve got the insect-like soldier as a tribute from a slave seller (I happened to shoot such ships down before, but that kills everyone in the ship--slaves included--so I figured I should try saving at least one living being this time) and (coincidentally or not) ran into a Zoltan peaceful ship right after. The Zoltan captain started a philosophical chat about being part of the Federation or being a rebel, and I went down that path alongside him. By the end of the exchange they offered me an augmentation (a kind of item that works as a passive buffer regardless of the ship’s available resources) called the Zoltan Shield--an “impenetrable shield” created by “an unexplained technology”--that was a game changer, allowing me to survive enough to repair the hull of my ship and advance further towards the next sector--which happened to be controlled by the (hostile) Mantis.

Still recovering from the unexpected “enlightenment” encounter, I ran into a ship described as having “dozens of layers of armor-plating added over what must have been a hundred year career” and led by the legendary thief KazaaakplethKilik. My crew freaks out, and everything derails badly after a clumsy attempt of contact by my Mantis soldier. I promptly decide to run, but even to do so we have to buy time for the FTL (“Faster Than Light”, which lends the game its name) module to charge before doing so; and trying to pull it off we started using our Ion equipment to slowly paralyze the enemy ship--without ever having a fight in mind, let alone a victory. The thing is, we get some early lucky strikes on, our miraculous Zoltan Shield holds up pretty well and our drones start making significant damage. By the time the FTL was charged we were more inclined to win the battle than to lose, so… we press on. And, absurdly, their ship starts to crumble before us. The game mumbles something about “a mystery” after his demise and I’m still incredulous about what just happened. I can’t even tell if it was the “right” thing to do or not, erasing such a huge part of the system’s history without having any previous knowledge of it or ever wanting to do so.

As we head into the next level, everything in pretty bad shape after the singular event, we’re massacred by a regular pirate ship. I know we can do nothing about it, so I simply watch the crew desperately trying to put the spreading fire down until we finally explode in slow fashion… with a lasting sense of having accomplished something.

(Disclaimer: this is the first time I write a post as a piece of chronicle in this blog; and also the first game I write something about without beating it first.)

Gyromancer

Developer: Square Enix, PopCap Games

Publisher: Square Enix

Release: 2009

Platform: PC (played), X360

Genre: Puzzle

Weirder than seeing PopCap's logo following Square Enix's one is to behold the aggressive breed born from such unlikely partnership.

Gyromancer is somewhat oppressive in many levels: characters art pieces can be surprisingly wicked, the plot is dark and gory, and the gameplay--as far as gem-match puzzles go--aim to constrain the player instead of encourage creative problem solving. In fact, even simple actions as spinning gems counter clock-wise (something that could be intuitively pulled off with a right click of the mouse) cost an item, and must be executed sparingly. As it piles up towards the end, some concepts communicate badly and puzzles manage to become even cryptic, an unthinkable feature for an apparently casual setup.

But it still hooks. Finding, unlocking and training gorgeous beasts proves to be rewarding--and so does simply following the classic-yet-nicely-told story. To the point it's easy to take "twisting gems" for granted and end taking the game more seriously than it has any rights to be taken.

Great art--tied to almost-as-great writing.

Gyromancer succeeds by not only dressing PopCap's stuff in a beautiful coat of paint, but also by adding meaning to mundane gameplay mechanics.

Downwell

Developer: Moppin

Publisher: Devolver Digital

Release: 2015

Platform: iOS, PC (played), Android, PS4, Vita, Switch

Genre: Action

It's a shame that in a solid hardcore arcadey action game like Downwell the "flourish" roguelite elements end up bringing luck into the table in such a decisive manner: it’s not rare to spend an entire gameplay session running into useless free upgrades--or not running into the most valuable buyable ones at all (or finding them available in the shops only when having that kind of money is just plain impossible, and so on). That piles up upon relying on leaps of faith to keep going down the title well; and taking chances coupled together with funky collision boxes and some unpredictable wall jump mechanics may not paint a beautiful Virtual Boy-esque picture from the beginning.

But when it comes to the sheer pleasure of playing it Downwell can sit comfortably among the old classics it emulates—and expands upon.

Steppin on turtles will kill them--but only if it's exactly in the shell

If Miyamoto’s quote about a single idea solving multiple problems at once hints at something about game design Ojiro Fumoto is a worthy heir of the relatively new Japanese tradition of being good at it. The single action button (used primarily for jumping) unfolds as a jack-of-all-trades: while in the air, it shoots bullets from the character’s boots; those can kill enemies, but also make the character soar instead of simply falling; if the boots run out of bullets they will be promptly recharged upon touching the ground--or enemies’ heads for that matter (just like some old mustachio kappa-killer), and the gameplay can keep flowing depending on the player’s ability and reaction/prediction capabilities. But then there are enemies that can’t be stomped--as there are ones that can’t be shoot; and some of them give more gems than others, maybe worth the risk of getting hurt in the process of killing/reaching them; and just when the player starts to get too comfortable in taking their time to subvert the frenetic pace proposal water levels—together with a brand new air meter--are introduced.

Downwell acts as a prism, expanding the gameplay field from a single premise--and with a level of elegance rarely seen in games, old or new.

Radiant Historia

Developer: Atlus, Headlock

Publisher: Atlus

Release: 2010

Platform: Nintendo DS (played), 3DS

Genre: RPG

Time travel-based narratives are prone to plot holes, deal-breaking twists and inherent inconsistency problems, and Radiant Historia is no exception to that; but the game falls short from being stellar not on behalf of those.

Ambitious as it is for a portable exclusive release, the game is rough around the edges--and it shows. Sometimes it’s just about minor cosmetic details, like the lack of diagonal sprites/animations; other times more important issues surface, as the unreliable hit detection--or worse, when bad stats balancing (like poisoning damage hurting more than a full direct hit, or weaknesses being rendered irrelevant too frequently) almost break the innovative positioning/combo battle system.

Portraits/character design are gorgeous overall

But if a JRPG--especially one with a time gimmick at its core--is at least 50% story, players who come for that will be neatly served. The characters are strong and believable (and gorgeously presented while at it), the heavy focus on politics is well explored and creates a timeless relatable setting and the plot is interesting enough to make up for the false “choose your path” pitch (both main and alternative timelines will have to be explored eventually, like it or not). And even if the game isn’t Chrono Trigger-tier the heavenly Yoko Shimomura’s score makes it feel almost so.

Not without its shortcomings, Radiant Historia is still well worth the ride for focusing on what matters most as a trusty representative of the tradition it’s part of.

EDGE

Developer: Mobigame

Publisher: Mobigame

Release: 2008

Platform: Android, iOS, PSP, PC (played), Mac, Wii U, 3DS

Genre: Puzzle

Yet another geometric-shaped puzzler, EDGE elevates itself above the rest through sporting finesse in almost every aspect of the production process. Art direction, graphics (tech and art wise), sound (both music and sound effects) and level design are all pristine, and the final product is well balanced between retro-ey and modern.

When it comes to gameplay mechanics things get a bit more complicated--even though that was a conscious design decision as well: the innate "digital" (meaning stiff) character of the main avatar gets in the way of the "analogue" (meaning subtle) needs of many of the most interesting puzzles. That's because "rolling" a cube down tight platforming conundrums or quick shape-shifting environments can only feel awkward and lead to death-by-trial-and-error since quickly reacting out of danger is out of question. In the times the game acknowledges that as a feature and puts it to good use, it clicks brilliantly; but maybe there is near the same amount of frustration around.

"Parkouring" with a cube can be both frustrating and delightful

As a piece of videogame art the outcome is highly positive though. Even if EDGE has its flaws it's good to see this degree of confidence shine through the entire journey of a game in such a cohesive fashion.