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Saturday 30 November 2013

Here's a little Contrast

Apparently the next generation is finally here as if anyone remotely involved in gaming didn't already realise...

And free on the PS4 (with one year of PlayStation Plus subscription at £39.99), comes a little game called Contrast. This puzzle platformer from Compulsion Games, plays with the use of light and shadow to progress between levels. I've not had a great deal of chance to play with it so far but from what I've played, the concept is intriguing. The character you play is able to shift between a shadow on a wall and a physical person which opens up the world to some incredibly innovative perception. Whether it be to traverse across seemingly impossible gaps or avoid threatening enemies, the way the light/shadow play is used is neat and (for lack of a better and non-repetetive word) charming. I've been looking at creating that 2D side scrolling platformer but was struggling to think of a quirky enough gameplay mechanic that would fit nicely onto an iOS device so I think I've stumbled across a winner here (or at least the idea of one). Take a look at some examples of Contrast here:




Surprisingly this isn't a far cry from another new title this month, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, where Link is able to turn into a 2D painting to move along walls and slip through gaps in bars to reveal new areas. There'll be more on that soon though, I'm currently compiling a list of games that have similar mechanics to Contrast and that's made it on the list so far.

1 comment:

  1. I like the concept of slipping from one dimension to another within a game.

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