The test
The English studio Spiral Circus Games was founded in 2018 only and is made up of only four people. Silt is therefore their first game, to be naturally placed in the category of independent productions. But while titles of this genre abound and generally struggle to get noticed, this one has managed to capture the attention of the media and the public thanks to promising first images and trailers. We will see that the experience turns out to be perfectly in line with what we could expect… but unfortunately never goes beyond.
The adventure begins with the display of a small poem localized in French, which is used to present the scenario. The latter can legitimately be called a “postage stamp”, since it boils down to defeating underwater Goliaths in order to wake up a sleeping machine. Unlike Inside or other narrative games of the genre, there isn’t really any hidden meaning (or so we missed it) and the universe doesn’t seem to lend itself to complex deciphering. On the other hand, the underwater world presented to us is absolutely splendid… in its own way! Forget immediately the shimmering colors, the turquoise water, the ballets of fish and the majestic whales Abzû, because here everything is dark, dirty and dangerous. Made entirely in 2D and in black and white, the game offers us a deliciously depressing and disturbing artistic direction. Bright lights, dark corners, marked contrasts and other chiaroscuros form a very attractive gallery of paintings. In terms of creatures and sets, the work of the studio artists even recalls at times that of HR Giger. Underwater animals are more like aliens than dolphins or fish. This is obviously the case of the four bosses to defeat, clearly inspired by fantasy, but the inhabitants of the more classic seabed are not outdone in terms of aggressiveness. Carnivorous plants don’t just eat flies, pgiant, sharp-toothed fish are as dangerous as they look, and even a tiny leech can end up killing your diver!
BEAUTIFUL AS LIMBO
Black and white graphics, very nasty creatures and gameplay “à la Playdead” make us regularly feel like we are evolving in an underwater Limbo. A little too much! Silt’s major problem, in addition to a few minor collision issues that can easily be forgiven, stems from its lack of ambition. Like Limbo, Inside, Little Nightmares and the others, it is satisfied with a short lifespan (three hours in this case) and relies only on a few puzzles to solve, its beauty, and the strength of its universe to seduce the players. But what has worked elsewhere for years is starting to feel a little warmed up. It’s hard to say if it’s just bad timing or a lack of sincerity on the part of the developers, but the enthusiasm is barely showing. It plays well, it’s nice, but it won’t leave lasting memories. The only element that stands out a bit comes from the main gameplay mechanic, which is based on the principle of possession.
Totally disarmed at the base, our diver can however take control of certain creatures. Thus, embodying a hammerhead shark allows him to smash certain walls, while directing a piranha is used to cut vines. Crabs jump and can damage some dangerous machinery, fast swordfish weave their way through carnivorous plants, stingray can teleport a few meters and a blast from the electric eel can restart a circuit or help defeat a boss. Detail which is pleasing because it complicates certain puzzles and simplifies others: this possession is transitive, and it is therefore possible to pass from one creature to another without having to return to the diver. But this gameplay does not change the case: after three hours a few puzzles and four bosses, the machine mentioned in the introduction restarts, the game ends, and the feeling of deja vu does not go away …
