I had already determined Supraland was my favorite game of 2019 up to now earlier than I observed it was nearly fully made by one man. If you’d requested me to guess, as I performed this 20-hour huge, ingenious, massively entertaining first-person puzzle game, I’d have mentioned it wanted to be a crew of no less than twenty. The artwork alone is a squad’s job, earlier than you get to the extent design, puzzle design, the huge array of instruments and methods added to your arsenal, and the astounding stage of polish. Yet when the credit scroll, one identify is listed for nearly the lot: David Münnich. Crikey.
I took a take a look at the game on a whim, after loving the look of the screenshots. But I had a hesitation: on its Steam web page it described itself as “a mix between Portal, Zelda and Metroid.” Yeah, and I’m a mixture between Bob Woodward, Hunter S Thompson and Joan Didion. But bloody hell if it doesn’t get near its personal accolade. This is a big, more and more open world, filled with puzzles steadily paying homage to Portal 2, with first-person fight, squillions of secrets and techniques, and a very cute world.
The premise is cute – you’re a little purple plastic toy determine, residing in a village of different little purple plastic toy figures, in a small boy’s again backyard. He looms over the world, an ambivalent god-figure. Your character, the son of the King and Queen of the purple individuals, is charged with the hefty process of travelling throughout the sandbox (actually) to speak to the King of the little blue plastic toy figures, about your ongoing battle. Except getting throughout there turns into an extremely convoluted process, involving an unlimited array of areas, and an ever-growing pile of instruments and gear with which to unravel puzzles, open doorways, and traverse obstacles.
The first you’re given is the power to spawn a waist-high purple dice, together with, pretty rapidly, elevated motion velocity, and a double-jump. With these you’re employed your approach by means of the primary assortment of puzzles, whereas turning into obvious of these not but inside your grasp. You’re gently guided by the opposite Reds in your village, despatched on a few quests, earlier than being launched into the big outdoors world. But earlier than you go, you’re given a picket sword, as a result of it’s simply not secure on the market.
I don’t need to inform you any extra, actually. So a lot of Supraland’s pleasure is within the discovery, of figuring out how one can mix two, or three, or 4 talents you’ve gained to unravel one thing new, or of considering laterally after earlier options can’t be used. And all through you’re kindly guided by NPCs, who’ll provide ambiguous ideas, and even spring up with clues should you’ve been caught in a single space too lengthy. (And I’ll confess I didn’t fairly end it with out turning to this splendid page of hints, that quite pleasingly immediate quite than simply giving the reply.)
It does what the Metroid Prime games did so effectively, too, of getting you fly by means of earlier areas that had been as soon as barely-surmountable trials, in your option to fathoming the subsequent. It’s additionally exquisitely effectively gated, new areas opening up thick and quick, however with out that annoying Metroidvania factor of seeing an enormous blue door you possibly can’t but cross. In truth, so delicate is its execution that oftentimes you’ll realise later you had been fortunately working straight previous an impassable route earlier than you had been geared up for it. Which, once more, simply isn’t one thing that needs to be potential when one man just about makes a game on his personal!
I simply can’t recover from how a lot there’s right here. This game is big, however ever-changing. I’ve been enjoying it each spare second for over per week, and fascinated by it once I’m not enjoying. I’ve been sneaking into my research for an additional hour earlier than mattress, after which lastly going to mattress three hours later – that’s simply not one thing I do any extra since turning into a dad! I’ve simply completely adored this.
There is one exception. The fight is first rate, an eventual mixture of ranged and melee weapons, with alt-fire modes that permit combo assaults, and it’s all high quality. But it’s all too usually superfluous, and the one side of the game that turns into repetitive. Returning to outdated areas, with the intention of fixing a puzzle I couldn’t fathom earlier than, or to on a hunt for secrets and techniques, may contain some fairly complicated platforming escapades. Which means it’s little enjoyable to search out myself attacked by fifteen demons and skellingtons from all instructions once I’m in the midst of doing it. They’re very simply dispatched (and the game’s solely boss battle leans in the correct route of utilizing your expertise over tiresome fight) however show to be fairly an irritant. They’re helpful, even crucial, as kills drop cash, and also you’ll want these for bettering your expertise. But gosh I want they had been extra avoidable when it’s simply not fascinating for them to be there. Oh, and one different tiny situation – the bounce feels, like, two millimetres too low. It’s simply off.
I completed the game with 67% full, which I believe is all the time helpful info to know earlier than you begin. Lest you turn out to be terrified (as I used to be, this evaluate already per week late, once I was solely on 38% after enjoying for a lot of days). The share is closely influenced by optionally available collectables and hidden bonuses, and there to present you a purpose to maintain enjoying as soon as the primary story is full. Which certainly I’ve.
This is simply completely magnificent. The world is exceptionally effectively constructed, all seen at any time should you can climb excessive sufficient, with the omnipresent youngster towering over in varied locations like a colossus. By the time it geared up me with so many talents, I turned positive I’d have the ability to ‘break’ the game too simply, discover routes I wasn’t purported to over the cliffs, or skip walled off sections. And but every time I assumed I used to be about to, I’d discover a hidden bonus, a “secret area” – he was all the time one step forward.
It’s these types of smarts that makes this such an absolute pleasure of a game. It actually does stand comparisons with Portal, Zelda and Metroid, which isn’t any imply feat, and never phrases I’d provide frivolously. That it’s a mixture of the three approaches implies that, no, it by no means matches any for his or her particular person supremacy, however after all it doesn’t! What it does as a substitute is provide its personal particular person supremacy, a witty, good, and wonderfully completed game, filled with merely glorious puzzles, culminating in a finale that implements and enhances all the things you’ve discovered in essentially the most splendidly satisfying approach.
It’s going to take a heck of loads for something to beat this game to be my favorite of 2019. What a splendid deal with.
