Iconoclasts - Review

I was recently looking at a list of all the games released this year, among them was a game called Iconoclasts, available on PS Vita and Steam.  I recently played Detroit Become Human and wanted to go for something lighter before engaging in the next big game.  I watched the trailer for Iconcoclasts and thought it looked fun so away I went to download it.

Mint is great and has many uses, my favorite being when it's used in plain old mint sweets.  They are a great palate cleanser, whether you have just consumed garlic and don't want to kill someone when talking to them, or if you have just got sick and want to forget you did.  Playing Iconoclasts I found myself asking was this the refreshing cleanse I needed to get my mouth feeling right?

Story

The game is set in a world that is controlled by one belief system.  Doing anything outside of this system will get you hurt, maimed, re-educated or killed.  This fanatical group called Concern,  after years of harassing people on the streets for money to send to the third world which then actually goes towards paying their wages they got bored, added a 'The' to their name and took over the world.  I'm joking, of course, that would never happen...they have spies everywhere so I can't say anything further.  The Moon is cracking apart and people are losing it, they feel that their god referred to as 'Him' (spoiler alert it's not music group) is a little upset at the non-believers and is coming to reap vengeance on everyone.

The game has you play as Robin, a mechanic, that in itself makes her a rebel.  In the early part of the game you are interrogated by Agents Black and White, one complains of their head hurting, the other throws out statements like 'someone's been twisting nuts - harlot!'.  That doesn't stop Robin wanting to investigate recent events and generally ends up throwing a spanner in the works.  She does have 'help', I use the term lightly as your sidekicks disappear frequently and don't ever seem to provide any real support.  The biggest pain is Royal, A.K.A. Dead Weight, A.K.A. Pain in the Ass, he is supposed to be powerful but gets knocked out a lot.

Overall I found the story to be pretty underwhelming, there is a lot of dialogue in the game but it feels drawn out, unnecessary and in more than a few places dull.  The companions you have are pretty annoying, occasionally you will be able to take control of them but they are so underpowered by comparison of Robin it just feels like a slog using them.

Visuals

The visuals are done in a cutesy 8-Bit style, trees and bushes have either a cube or pyramid design which is quite fun.  Playing through the game some it reminded me of Zelda and Metroid, which wasn't a bad thing.  I liked the look of the Isiligar, a town under the sea, almost like a fish tank but for people...a people tank?  Some of the enemies were really great, two of my favorites being; The Silver Watchmen, a Samurai with a purple laser katana and Mother who has the ability to make a giant tiger out of concrete and cars.

Overall the visuals were really good and were definitely one of the stronger elements of the game.

Music

I found the music interesting as it had the ability to switch from cute and peaceful to dark and sinister in a heartbeat.  What was impressive to me was that it was done so seamlessly and gave the game an interesting feel.  The music was written, produced and composed by Joakim 'Konjak' Sandberg,  who is also the creator and developer of the game, a Swedish man with many talents.

The soundtrack runs at over two hours which I found to be pretty amazing for a smaller game, especially when everything was done by one person.  My favorite tracks included:

'Nuts and Bolts Title'

'Robin (Blockrock)'

'Controlled Cacophony (Battle 1)'

'Whiteout (VS Agent White)'

'Indoctrination (The Tower)'

'The Greater Good (One Concern)'

'Jet Black (VS Black)'

'Mother (VS Oedipus)'

'Castle Doctrine (Final Battle)'

Overall a strong soundtrack that manages to blend light and darkness together without missing a beat.

Gameplay

The game can be best described as a 2D side-scrolling puzzler and playing through it I could definitely tell it took its cue from games like Zelda and Metroid, unfortunately, it doesn't do it nearly as well.  The puzzles, for the most part, don't feel like puzzles but more annoying obstacles.  The controls are not always as responsive as they should be and sometimes basic movements like climbing a ladder or picking up a box feel like a hardship.

Robin can upgrade and collect new weapons throughout the game, the wrench has some great abilities, and the gun has a cool swapping mode later in the game.  Outside of this, you can collect schematics which are used for creating tweaks, in honesty I found them to be disappointing and did not enhance my experience.  If you never used them you would not miss them.

During my time playing I found there to be a few points where it felt like I was on a desert island and somehow managed to stand on a plug and I thought to myself 'why the hell is that there?'.  There is an area where you have to be stealthy or you fail, not only did it feel out of place but it was supposed to be training for something that you never need.  The other point was where you play as Mina, she has a slow firing gun, moves slowly and can't crawl, so playing as her was infuriating and felt like a handicap. 

Complaints aside I did enjoy many of the boss fights and felt this is one of the stronger parts of the gameplay.  The final boss was interesting and offered a challenge without being frustrating.  Overall the gameplay wasn't great and I found myself way too often wanting the game to be over. 

Final Thoughts

So, after eighteen hours of gameplay how did I feel?  Underwhelmed and happy for my journey to be over with Robin and Co.  The story was a little all over the place, the other characters, for the most part, did not enhance the experience but instead diminished it.  The visuals and music were really good and were by far the strongest part of the game.  The gameplay itself was lacking and I feel a little more polishing could have made it a far better experience.  It is important to note that this game was built from the ground up by one person and I greatly respect that as I do Fez creator Phil Fish.  While I had to really debate this one the game narrowly scraped a 3 out of 5

The Swapper - Review

A few years back I stumbled across a game called The Swapper, an indie side-scroller puzzler created by Facepalm Games.  When I originally played it I had no idea the studio was made up of only two people both students from the University of Helsinki.  I was recently thinking about the game and couldn't remember exactly how I felt about it, so I decided it was time to try it out again.


I like cheese, and I don't just mean in the comedy sense.  One of my favorite cheeses is Brie, there are a number of variations, personally, I like it to have a fairly solid consistency making it easy to spread and not liquidy.  Initially, when I tried Brie I was unsure if I liked it, the texture was very different to any cheese I had tried before and the taste was very rich.  When I tried it again I decided that I not only liked it, I loved it.  Playing The Swapper again I found myself asking would the second time around help me decide if it was my Brie?

Story

In the future humanity has used up all of Earth's natural resources, so we look to the stars to solve our problems, which in honesty we are not a million miles away from now.  There are numerous Space Stations whose sole purpose is to find new resources to help humanity survive.  The game has you play the role of a female scavenger who is stranded on one of these Space Stations that is seemingly abandoned.  Early on in the game, you find a device called the swapper, it not only allows you to create up to four clones of your self but also swap your consciousness between them.  This technology is created through the discovery of an alien race known as The Watchers.  The objective of the game is to escape the space station.

Initially, the story starts out relatively simple, but the more you discover what has happened to the crew of Space Station Theseus the more you are forced to question mortality, the concept of a soul and even life itself.  I enjoyed this element and was certainly unexpected from this type of game.  

Visuals

The visuals used in the game are rather unique, when I first played it I could not put my finger on exactly what it was that made it so different.  It turns out the game was modeled in clay and then digitized.  The look of the main character is so detailed, all body movements look realistic - with the exception of when you fall from a height.  One of the things I liked most was the dimly lit enclosed areas which reminded me of scenes from the first three Alien movies.   There are more colourful and open areas such as the Garden (see above) and the luminous plant life that can be found in the Solar Panel Maintenance Module.

Overall the game is a visual spectacle and is a true testament to what can be achieved on handheld consoles (yeah I know it's ported), but more importantly, it shows what can be achieved by just two people.

Music 

The soundtrack is haunting, atmospheric and provides a real feeling of isolation making it perfectly suited for The Swapper.  It is perhaps an unusual thing to say but sometimes the lack of music in the game is what makes it so memorable because when I did hear it I felt myself paying more attention than I might ordinarily in a game.  The soundtrack features heavy use of electronic music and throws in a sprinkling of a piano.  The soundtrack was created by:

Carlo Castellano, an Italian composer, sound designer, performer, and programmer. His works include the video game soundtrack for Invaders Corruption, an EP entitled Piano Work and a project called Electro Moving Picture which focuses on the link between music and photography.

The soundtrack is just shy of thirty minutes and contains thirteen tracks.  I felt it was the perfect length and features some great tracks including 'Theme', 'Greenhouse', and 'Alt Theme'.  Overall though my favorite track is 'Recreation' which features a haunting piano piece that features crackling to give it an aged feel.  

Outside of the soundtrack itself, there is one sound that really stood out for me - walking.  It's okay you read that right, due to the Space Station being abandoned there is little sound, apart from you characters feet traversing the different areas of the game which varies quite a bit.

Overall a great soundtrack that really helps make the game what it is.

Gameplay

The gameplay can be best described a 2D side-scrolling puzzle game.  The objective of the game is relatively straightforward, create up to four clones and switch your consciousness between them to help solve puzzles using a device called the swapper.

The puzzle solving element starts simple and becomes more complicated by throwing restrictions for using the swapper.  Certains coloured light effect your movement, for example, red light allows you to create a clone but you can't transfer your consciousness to it and blue light does the opposite. 

The reward for completing puzzles is orbs which you will need to collect in order to access various areas of the Space Station, and ultimately try and escape it.  The more you progress through the game you will find teleporters that allow you to jump to others areas of the ship without having to do all the legwork.

Overall the gameplay is interesting, and for the part enjoyed solving the puzzles.  That being said I found some of them to be a little frustrating and I am sad to say there were at least two puzzles I had to check a walkthrough to figure out.

Final Thoughts

So after five-plus hours how did I feel?  Really good, like Brie my second playthrough confirmed how much I really enjoyed it.  The story was interesting and in some ways was quite thought-provoking, the music and visuals helped create a haunting environment.  The gameplay itself offered a challenge that for the most part did not have me pulling my hair out.  Overall this one gets a solid 4 out of 5