Gorogoa: Video Game Overview

In December, it is customary to sum up the outgoing year, ignoring almost all releases of the last month. It is relevant for 2017, at the end of which came out Gorogoa – result of many years of work Jason Roberts (Jason Roberts), alone working over the project of his dream. And it is a pity, if one of the best puzzles of modernity will miss.To release a dish from the hand to the plate will not be.

Flour of creativity

For the first time O Gorogoa It became known in 2012, and release the final version Roberts planned within a few months after the announcement. But new ideas did not stop visiting it, and the visual component had to redo the visual component – almost everything is drawn here by hand. Some episodes from the game were removed forever, some slightly or completely changed. But the basic idea has since remained the same – this is a puzzle about moving four tiles to solve riddles.

At the very beginning of passing, the player show a boy who looks out the window and sees how a huge (but beautiful) monster arrived in the city. The guy begins to convulsely flipping the pages of his book and finds the image of people who make the gifts in it. Did he know about the arrival of the creature? Was preparing for him? Or everything so successfully coincided? This every will decide for yourself – a lot in this story will remain unanswered.

The boy goes to another part of the room and looks into the storage room, after which it freezes. The player is no longer a press – the camera is neither closer, nor removed, and directly manage the character is not allowed. The picture with the guy is located in one corner, and in the neighboring the roof of the house with a leading door. Instinctively player tries to move the panel to another place, and then magic starts – all objects move along with the panel, and the entrance door remains on the spot.

It is necessary to put a panel with a “carved” door on the image with a boy in the storage room, as the hero again begins to move and goes to the roof, although he has just been at home. He goes on, collects gifts to offer whether the deity, or just a dangerous monster and falls into different temporary epochs. And the first mystery with the door turns out to be the easiest and most elementary. And after it, we meet as many gorgeous puzzles that the reason for the long development becomes obvious.

Key thought Gorogoa lies in the close relationship of all objects in the world around us. And each riddle confirms this theory. The item that lies on the table fell to the floor or hanging on the wall, it may be part of something completely different if you take a step to the side and try to dock one panel on the other. Up to the final, the game remains true to his style, admiring her creator in every step, but any example, unfortunately, will be a spoiler.When the game takes place in a couple of hours, it is difficult to choose screenshots without spoilers.

Museum piece

Surprisingly here how logically every puzzle is made. A simple movement of the Naobum pictures is unlikely to lead to the desired result, especially if there are four panels on the screen with the ability to move the chamber. Gorogoa It is built in such a way that after a series of pretty simple mysteries, the player seems to speak in her language – the potential solutions will notice faster and finds the connection of objects with each other. Therefore, the seemingly complex episodes are becoming easier, if before that I understood, by what rules everything works here.

At the same time, each chapter appears new original ways to use the simplest gameplay mechanics. You could also say about the delightful The Witness – It seems that the whole game is engaged in drawing lines on the signs and walls, but the island was divided into several zones offered a dozen of various types of mysteries. Gorogoa It is done about the same principle, and how smoothly goes from one time period to another and how beautiful the frames are replaced by others, it causes only a genuine delight.

The easiest way to compare the game with an illustrated book, fully deprived of words. The story is told through pictures and clouds, in which people’s thoughts are shown. In the best traditions of indie games, the plot of the plot and explain what no one will be, but this is the case when the details are not particularly needed. For myself, you made conclusions for myself, my opinion shared with friends, and if I didn’t understand anything at all, I still had a great evening and do not regret the time spent.

I would like to agree on a small duration, but unique gameplay mechanics very simply spoil the tightened history. Depending on the smelling passage Gorogoa will take from one and a half to two hours, and after final titles, it will certainly want more. But for this couple of hours, never will be stupid mysteries or episodes in which nothing happens. Here you constantly admire beautiful images, you enjoy the little victories when solving puzzles and you consider small details, trying to fully understand the author’s design. It is not excluded, by the way, that after the first passage it will want to immediately start the second to find answers to those who have any questions.The longer you are looking for another gift for messengers, the more panels are filled.***
That Gorogoa will be something special, it became clear even after its first demonstration. Exciting demoment, victory at several festivals of independent games, Investor interest from Indie Fund, the appearance of the publisher in the face Annapurna interactive – Everything pointed to the highest quality game. The result is unlikely to disappoint someone – Gorogoa turned out to be a real work of art worthy of being in one row with famous Braid, Inside, Fez, The Witness And other masterpieces.