Contrast - Review (Final Thoughts)

Having played the Portal series and Trine, I realized I quite enjoy playing puzzle based games. Not to mention those that were on the DS like Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright (although Phoenix Wright was not really puzzle solving so I ended up not finishing it) But the pure satisfaction of you solving an impossibly hard puzzle was too much a drug for me, I found myself playing portal over and over, especially those puzzles that were particularly tricky.

This is pure gold, couldn't pass up the perfect moment to post it =)

So imagine my delight when my brother showed me a game made by Compulsion Games,

CONTRAST!!! Wait that's not right...

CONTRAST!!! No, I mean

CONTRAST!!! (The right one)

One of the highlights of the game was the fact that although this game is played in a 3D environment, the game incorporates 2D platform like puzzles ,by use of shadows, into the mix giving the game a new dynamic that is almost unique to any other game. I could say no other game has done that before and I was intrigued. (Naturally) Here's the trailer:

When they started showing how you can jump in and out of shadows, that's when I was hooked, so now on to the review.

Storyline
The game begins with you standing in the room of Didi, a little girl that happens to be friends with you. And just like that the use of shadows is already introduced to you. The story revolves around Didi and how she strives to repair her parents' broken relationship. It also shows us the tough decisions adults have to make for the betterment of their children.

Here's Didi!

The story is fine, simple to pick up but at the same time keeps you hooked on the game. The only problem is, you don't control Didi, you control Dawn, a perceived imaginary friend of Didi with the ability to meld into shadows. And that's the problem, you don't feel immersed in the story because it's not your story, you are a bystander (and most of the time also assistant) to Didi and her life. Which kind of detracts from that experience. Another thing is that since you'll be assisting Didi through whatever puzzle, it seems more like babysitting than puzzle solving. It doesn't help that Didi can sometimes come off as obnoxious and annoying but adorable and funny other times. (much like a real child if they're going for that) And you're also playing catch up most of the time, Didi always getting ahead because she can squeeze into small spaces and you having to find your way around that.

Didi wants to get into the factory, and you're the one that has to do it

Despite the fact that the game had excellent storytelling, beautiful cutscenes and gorgeous visuals, being an observer instead of a main character in the game actually stopped me from being immersed in the story. And that's what I find a bit disappointing.

Art Direction and Soundtrack
The art of this game was spot on, the team having a very focused and well defined direction to how they wanted to portray the game. And all that hard work did well in their favour, the cut scenes and scenery all giving you a feel of the ambience and atmosphere in that world. This carried on to even small minute details like loading scenes and minor puzzles you encounter throughout the game.

The world, as I said, takes place in around the 1920s, with a old noir kind of setting. The streets being in the darker side of town, with burlesques and shady characters all around. Not the kind of place for a child to be roaming around in. The contrast (no pun intended) making you worry for Didi's safety as she goes roaming around unattended. The game makes excellent use of shadows (since shadows play a huge role in the game mechanics) as well, displaying how something two dimensional can still be visually appealing. And the soundtrack is awesome really bringing you into the world. Here are some pictures~

Sadly, there's no official soundtrack on their YouTube page, so you'll have to play the game for the full experience.

Gameplay and Mechanics

The fact that you could meld into shadows was the main attraction for this game, and thankfully I wasn't disappointed. (by the shadow part, others, we'll get to that) Just like how in Portal, you have to start thinking with portals, in Contrast, everything will make sense when you start thinking with shadows. The game introduces you to the mechanic at the start, and slowly adds new abilities as you progress.

Look ma! I'm standing on a bicycle to get to a ledge!

Other aspects come into play as well, like rearranging furniture to cast bigger shadows and shining light on different objects  to cast the perfect shadow. Once you get the hang of it, you'll really start having fun.

Nothing is exempted, any shadow counts as a platform

The freedom you have to use whatever it is for shadows is amazing and the fact that it's all up to your creativity means there are several ways you can solve puzzles.

Haha, look! I'm standing on a head!

This does not come with its fair share of glitches and bugs, however, and this is where the lack of game testers really show (it is a small game company to be fair). There were several inconsistent instances in the game which confused me a bit and made it harder to solve a puzzle. Like you instantly phasing out of the shadows when you pass through a window but other times moving along with no problem. Or instances where at some points in the game, there were minor indeliberate shadows that made certain areas impassable even though that shouldn't be the case. And just a heads up, should Dawn get stuck in between shadows and would be otherwise crushed if she stayed any longer, you'd be immediately phased out. You can dash through thin shadows as well later on, but with glitchy results in some cases.

Shadows are captivating and wonderful mediums for storytelling, as shown by Contrast

Another gripe I had with the game was there are quick time events without queueing you what will happen. So a huge part of the game was trial and error as well, if I was given enough hints and queues it would be fine but it was mostly experimentation.

One of my favourite puzzles, the Carousel!

The beauty and simplicity of shadows, Dawn jumping from horse to horse

Mostly set in black and white, it's amazing how much life they brought to the game

One last thing, the game doesn't make full use of the mechanics they have put in, as soon as a new one is introduced, they older mechanics fall off. This coupled with the fact that I started really getting into the game was when it ended. There weren't enough puzzles in my opinion, if they had taken those previous mechanics and made just three more puzzles with all the mechanics implemented my view of the game would be much more different.

All in all, the game did everything right except for being a game, the story simple to pick up with depth when played further, the characters appealing and memorable, the premise exciting (puzzle solving with shadows), and the art and soundtrack captivating and beautiful. The minor gripe I had with you not being the main character was not much of a problem with the game but a complaint actually. What really disappointed me was the lack of puzzles, and I feel if they had added a few more it would be a much better game. Contrast fails at being a game first while getting everything else right. But at the end of the day, a game is something people play, in this case I want puzzles to solve, the story, art and soundtrack all help to bring the game to life but are not what ultimately make a game, a game.

That being said, I would still recommend this game if you want a new experience, just like how Transistor was a unique game compared to the rest, so too was this one, just don't expect to be playing it very long. And not to end on a bad note:

Arghhh, I hurt my leg! (See how a caption can change your perspective, she was actually singing, and performing, haha =D)

As always, have fun playing games and you can give this one a try!