Contrast

Contrast has great art and an amazing soundtrack, as well as a straightforward plot with a gameplay featuring some creative puzzles. Simply put, if you like games such as Psychonauts, Voodoo Vince and Grim Fandango, this is a good call. Just make sure you play using a Mouse and Keyboard instead of a Gamepad — there's something weird going up with the player movement that halves the jump height when you're using one.

I like the grafics, the story and the music is so amazing.

Short, but nice. it's quite easy on on the platforming part, but the controls can be a bit wonky here and there.

The controls and graphics are obviously a bit funky given the age of the game. The Aesthetics and music is great though. storyline was enjoyable too.

great

hidden gem

Loved the noir atmosphere and the soundtrack! Overall nice, short game with some interesting mechanics.

i love this game so much. it seems so simple at first but its so satisfying trying to figure out all the puzzles. i especially love the world design!! very magical but still feels so lived in. on one hand i wish it was a little longer but i think the plot wrapped up nicely anyway!<3

beautiful art direction, an intriguing story, and really neat mechanics (even though they're a lil clunky sometimes). i loved the reveal at the end, it didn't really click for me even though i'd been reading the collectibles the whole way so it felt like a neat little surprise. very much recommended to anyone who loves puzzles and can tolerate some platforming along the way!

Unique little game. Shame it's so short (less than 4 hours!) A couple frustrating moments, but take a step back and you'll get it. Really touching story. Recommend buy on a sale!

Genuinely incredible!
Endlessly beautiful story with adorable characters and great presentation
The gameplay is very simple, so you won't be challenged very much by the platforming. Although the puzzles were quite solid, especially towards the end; at least for me who usually barely plays any games containing puzzles, so mileage may vary, obviously.
It's a short one. I got all collectables in one go and it took me a little less than 3,5 hours, so treat it more like a longer movie, but please trust me when I say that it is worth experiencing!
On top of all of that it's more or less frequently on sale for 75% off and for that money, if this kind of game seems interesting to you, even just in the slightest, it's a must-buy.

It was pretty good. Relaxing. It had a nice atmosphere. The controls could be a bit better.

Beautiful game, cinematic and cozy. Highly recommend to anyone who likes jumping and puzzles. I like how there is no combat, just collecting and story. Puzzles are enough to make you think. I like that it was a short and sweet game.

wish it was longer!

Liked:
* timeless visuals
* short cute story
* unique game mechanic

Disliked:
* a bit clumsy control
* unanswered questions about the world of the game

the concept the music the art style.. this game is amazing

I love the art style, story, and concept of the game. The controls and timing can be a bit off, but that could also be a skill issue on my part. It does feel short, story-wise, once you get to the ending since you are spending most of your time trying to solve the puzzle to get to the next point. Would still play the game over and over just to not only get 100% on it, but to just immerse myself in the world.

A true work of art. A++++

This is a game that has been sitting in my backlog since *checks notes* 2017? I started it, but had never finished it. Until today. Again, I find myself wishing Steam had a neutral button. But I’ll (cautiously) recommend it-on sale. I think I paid under $4 for it and that seems fair. I’m going to break this review down into a list of pros and cons:

Pros:
-A very unique artstyle/setting and a dark/gritty atmosphere

-A story that isn’t among the best, but fits the atmosphere and does wrap up in a satisfying way at the end

-Uniquely stylized female protagonist

-Ran flawlessly on my Steam Deck

Cons:
-The protagonist is completely silent and the family she spends the entire game essentially fixing things for aren’t all that likable. Didi, the child that you spend the entirety of the game with can often be annoying.

-For a puzzle platformer that sometimes requires very precise movements, the controls are not as tight as they should be-which can lead to unnecessary frustration.

-The checkpoint system is very generous, but the save system is not. If you’re going through a tough level/part of a level and want to take a short break, it’s better to leave the game on then exit out and come back unless you very recently saw a “Saved” message in the bottom left corner-you might start several hard-to-obtain collectibles back and have to re-obtain them.

Overall, it’s a unique enough game that I’d recommend it (on a decent sale) to those willing to overlook its shortcomings. I’m happy to see the studio that made it continue to make unique games-and I will eventually pick their other games up-on a decent sale.

Cool style, but very short and simple.

The story is pretty weak, and the dialogue is a little overly cheesy even as an homage to film noir. The art and world design look great. The designs reminded me of the art style of French comics. The puzzles and shadow mechanics are interesting. Being able to shift in and out of shadows was a unique choice. Adding the shadow mechanics to an action or spy game would be a great way to add a unique touch to those genres. Hopefully the studio will continue developing this on future games. The game is fairly short between 4-6 hours for most players. You can play it all in an afternoon or use it as a break between 100+ hour RPG titles. Also see if you can find the Tardis, the warp core from Star Trek, and Luke's lightsaber hidden in the game.

Very aesthetically pleasing game.
I enjoyed it and would play it again.

The Story is gross, the gameplay is very buggy, soundtrack is awful, the artstyle is repulsive.

Avoid this at all costs and save your money, the Community Manager of Compulsion Games even mentioned said 'i hate gamers', especially and i quote "white males gamers were a mistake", which is incredibly racist and don't deserve to have a platform on Steam.

Contrast is a short but neat experience. It's a puzzle 3D plat former that relies mainly on a shadow gimmick not only for the platforming but for the narrative as well. Overall its does a lot of little things that make you go "Oh that's neat." Contrast won't blow your mind but if you pick it up on a sale you won't regret the couple of hours you put into it.

I do wish the game was longer and there was more added, because the story, mechanics and design are just as magical and wondrous as when I first played this game years ago

Ran a little choppy at times but I would still recommend it. Fans of puzzle platformers and the general aesthetic will get a kick out of it.

Fun game mechanics, worth a few bucks

Fun light puzzles, some are harder than others and some are surprisingly simple, unfortunately it is a very short game and I would like to know more of Dawn's the story.

Amazingly nostalgic of the early 2010's indy games, the art style, the story, and the music has a way of making you feel cozy and warm.

I played this game stream, and honestly the first act was fun, the mechanic was cool and i understood how the game works, then act 2 started and it went downhill., while i do like that the game doesnt tell me what i have to do specifically in this case there were so many moments i randomly got flung out of the shadow realm and i just raged, then at one point i just had no clue anymore and decided to quit.

the first act is fun, the rest is just rage inducing.
I dont recommend it at all

Very short but fun game that can be beat in about 3 to 4 hours but took me a bit more cause I am slow with the puzzles.

Fun platformer with shadow "elements" to change up game play and puzzles occasionally.

The story is good but kind of depressing especially when you realize how dirty the girlfriend/wife did the main character's dad.

There is some replayability if you go after achievements and don't get them the first play through. You can select chapters within the acts, instead of having to repeat the entire thing. I got this for ps4 when it first came out and recently got it for Steam as well. So it was basically like replaying the game all over since I hadn't remembered exactly where some of the items were located.

Overall it's worth buying.

Great story telling.
It's really good, simple, esp with a controller.

It's pretty, it has great music and the idea of it is fascinating. But, it's a little too simplistic, and annoyingly hand-holdy. All in all there is not much to play. In the end, it felt like I played trough an unpolished demo. It could've been great, but as it is, it just feels incomplete.

as short as this game is, i genuinely still love it. The aesthetic, the story, the characters and its world are all so intriguing to me however if i had to make one small complaint the shadow parkour would get a little janky sometimes and just kick me out for no reason. Still love this game though and absolutely recommend trying it if you're considering it.

I'm sure when this game came out over a decade ago, it was special, but still charging $10 for this in 2024 is absurd.

The game is 2 hours long to 100% in a blind playthrough and absolutely riddled in bugs and poor design to the point of being able to soft-lock yourself out of progression or completion, multiple times.

Get it on sale for $2 or less. Even $5 is too much now.

Some of the movement is a bit janky, but overall it was a fun game and the music and art style were great.

Overall a great game. Nice mechanics for a puzzle game. The OST is intriguing, sets the mood nicely and the plot resolves in a pleasant way. 9/10

I wish I didn't play this game at all so I could still cling to the illusion of it being something greater than a clunky and lackluster tech demo of a, at best, cool idea.

This is an amazing cabaret-noir style puzzle-platformer. You play in both the 3d foreground and 2d background to platform and to solve puzzles. The story is great! The art is great! The game is great! I wish there were more auto-save points but it was never a huge deal because the game is fairly short--lots of content jam packed into 3 acts. There is even a level select after game completion so I could go back and pick up the collectibles and hit the achievements that I had initially missed. Highly recommended game!

Contrast is a relaxing blend of 2D & 3D puzzle platforming. Very much a one and done playthrough if using a walk through guide. Worth picking up on sale, 7/10.

Average completion time: 4 hours
Number of achievements: 22
Difficulty: chilled
Replay-ability: Done in one
Online playerbase: NA

YAY.

not enough hype for this masterpiece

Contrast had a very strong start but the ending felt a bit rushed and the awkward jumping in shadow form became more prominent later. Chapter select is also not always helpful, especially when it comes to act 2. That said, it’s still a positive experience. The voice acting is perfect, it has an awesome style, the story was engaging, some of the levels are really well designed, the gameplay/puzzling element is interesting, the collectibles add to the lore and more. The game reminds me of PS3/Xbox 360 era games in terms of graphics, gameplay structure and UI. It feels like one of those games offered for 3-4 hours (3 acts total). It took me over 5 hours to get all the achievements.

I recommend Contrast when you’re in the mood for a mature story driven puzzle platformer. But you need to be a bit patient with the awkwardness that can occur in shadow form and platforming. The €2,49 sale price is definitely worth it.

A heartfelt story and unique take on platforming combine to make this an engaging, yet sadly short-lived, adventure.

Unique setting with a 1920s, immersive atmosphere, where we see the world through a child's eyes.
The story is amazing, unique and unfolds unexpectedly.
The game mechanics are super unique, changing from 3D to 2D seamlessly.
A must-play!

I love the Idea of this game. it's a 3D game merged with 2D game-play, it's an interesting idea and I love it. the story is OK and over all it's fun.
the game has some glitches and it makes it a little annoying sometimes but over all it's good.

.

Fun game with unique mechanics and a beautiful art style and soundtrack.

Bugs
1) Although some might see the following bugs as a downside, I love movement tech and I found a few interesting ones: you can jump, air dash, and then air jump right after the dash if you spam the jump key to get a lot more distance than intended. I used this tech to bypass a few puzzles (sometimes accidentally), and might have skipped a cutscene or key object unintentionally and had to backtrack to find how I was actually supposed to solve it.

2) Although this is never mentioned in the game, pressing the shift key will make you walk instead of run. If you're holding an object normally you would walk really slow, but if you press shift and let go you will carry the object faster.

3) Spamming jump allows you to climb up certain slopes you aren't supposed to get over otherwise.

My biggest criticism would have to be how I feel the pacing of "we have to hurry to save X" kind of clashes with the game encouraging you to explore obscure corners of the map. It's a bit hilarious how the game is trying to immerse you in a scenario where you need to urgently help a little girl, but you're encouraged to run off to pick up a shiny collectible item, especially because after certain cutscenes trigger you can't go back to explore the map, so you're incentivized to explore EVERYTHING just in case, which often turns out to be a waste of time because I was only able to get to that part of the map with a movement bug, and I would have gotten to that spot anyway if I had just triggered the cutscene and solved a puzzle normally.

My second biggest criticism would be the lack of a save option. It's a short game so you never lose a lot of progress, but I feel saving is such a basic feature it should be in any game at this point. Be careful after you've solved a puzzle and think the game saved, but it actually hasn't. Usually you need to trigger a cutscene or enter a new area to save the game.

Still, the game has really interesting mechanics, I can definitely see where the portal inspiration came from (apparently Compulsion Games founder worked at VALVe during portal's development). I think optics is such a cool area of physics and the concept for this game was great.

Lastly the game does have a glitchy environment, which might be a con for some people but again I'm here for the puzzles and breaking/limit testing the game to discover movement tech, so I don't really think it's a bad thing because it only happened on the edges of the map and usually never affected gameplay. I only once ended up clipping through the map and trapped myself inside of two walls lol, but again only because I used an air dash-air jump bug to reach a part of the map I was not supposed to get to.

Awesome game cool puzzles. Abstract world and great story.