Разработчик: Atrax Games
Описание
Josh exists in these worlds as alter egos, Caleb and Ammiel. Caleb lives only in the white world, on the fringe of reality. He wants to overcome his fears. Ammiel resides in the darkness; he wants only to be alone and completely detached from human contact.
Take control of these egos and flip between both realms to solve problems and traverse obstacles. Learn to utilize both distinct spaces, to avoid obstacles and find a path to safety.
- Explore 44 challenging levels of logic puzzles, platforming and mazes.
- Switch between worlds of light and darkness to overcome obstacles and find the way forward.
- Create and share new levels easily with the level editor.
- A Shared World allows players to connect the doorways in their creations to the levels built by others.
Поддерживаемые языки: english, french, italian, german, spanish - spain, polish, portuguese - brazil, russian
Системные требования
Windows
- OS *: Win XP / Win 7 / Win 8
- Processor: 2.0 GHz Dual Core Processor
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce 8800 or equivalent.
- DirectX: Version 9.0c
- Storage: 300 MB available space
Mac
- OS: Mac OS X (10.7 or higher)
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GHz
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce 8800 or equivalent.
- Storage: 300 MB available space
Отзывы пользователей
The game has an interesting mechanic, but parts of the levels feel sloppy. There was also a vague number puzzle level that felt completely inappropriate for this type of game. The controls are also wonky when you're near edges and you can get stuck when you're just trying to fall down a narrow shaft.
The game is also really short. You can beat it in under 2 hours.
Please please add a way to skip levels.
There are things I like about this game and it does a lot intelligently.
But oh man its hard (also I'm bad at platformers); it feels like its goal is to help people get over anxiety but to be honest this game just adds more stress.
The maps are all designed pretty well (with exception to that race map later in the game that is just frustraiting and pointless); but it's hindered quite a bit by clunky, often broken, controls. There are innumerous times when I should've jumped over something but the game haphazardly decided that I didn't and it got me killed.
Verry interesting game! I really like the artwork and the music.
One of the good projects, which was released recently.
I'm hoping at some point that this game wil be xbox controller compatible so I won't have to use a keyboard. This game is a very simple concept, and I love the art style as well. I really like the meaning behind the game overall. Hiding from the monsters that might eat you alive, all while trying to avoid your sharp bladed thoughts in the shadows. It's a great way of bringing awareness to social anxiety through a metaphorical lense.
What first attracted me to this game was the unique art stye, and as I continued to play I discovered it's fascinating game mechanics, one draw back I found was it's Repetedly frustrating stages.
I want to say, I like this game. It's a platformer that combines puzzles and reaction gameplay, and it was interesting for me,
Cons first. The game isn't easy, and I few times got frustrated dying or falling a fortieth time a level. The game also doesn't offer much different stuff. It's a bit monotonous. Though it's interesting enough for 44 original levels, I don't really think user-made levels would be interesting after the original game (unless the game was not difficult enough for you and you want it harder), though I'm going at least to try some. Some levels just don't fit well to the plot (especially the garden ones with Biblical quotes - I don't mind Biblical quotes, but I haven't seen the connection to the game plot).
And what is good. Atmosphere! It seems to really give you some impressions of social anxiety syndrom. These phrases written in the levels were really able to put me in this atmosphere. Most levels and puzzles are interesting. There are reaction and speed based levels, logic-based levels, and the ones combining both, and they are really interesting. Original graphics - after all I liked it.
Ammiel's ending was a bit shocking for me, and I got really deep and unexpected impressions in the end, which I like. Still didn't made it to Kaleb's ending.
So - if you aren't disappointed by cons above - buy this game. I'd say - it almost worth its full price, and don't hesitate if it's on the sale. However, still it may be the matter of taste. I can easily imagine people that wouldn't like it. The demo gives right impression about the game, so try it first. If you like the demo then you probably will like the game.
If you are looking for a rage platformer you can find hundreds of good ones, but this isn't it. It's quite easy and short and looks like a programing homework. But if you like paying attention to details then you can get a unique experience.
Keyboard-breaking frustration in puzzle platformers isn't new in the independent games market, with one of its most popular ones, Super Meat Boy, being extremely successful for not only it's gameplay but for its difficulty too. Sym, developed by Atrax Games and published by Mastertronic, is no exception to this, leaving the player growling in frustration at the screen after they've died for the thousandth time. However, what Sym tries to do is tell a unique story through its visuals and gameplay that symbolize the experience of anxiety. Not just normal butterflies in the stomach nervousness, but actual social anxiety that can be crippling to someone's life. This makes this game quite an interesting beast to try to understand; while you may peel back a few layers to what's going on, there's no doubt more going on beneath the surface.
You play as Caleb, a lanky shadowy man who lives on the fringe of reality, wanting to conquer his fears, and Ammiel, a white tentacle creature who lives detached from the world around him, allowing his fears to get the better of him. They are both alter egos of a boy named Josh, and each of their worlds represent separate sides of how Josh perceives things; two distinctive characters with similar playstyles, but different things to conquer in their own respective worlds. For example, with Caleb you'll run and jump over ledges, walking over hidden spinning blades very easily, but then you come across a wide open monstrous eye, then you switch to Ammiel who avoids the eyes because he lives in his land of shadows. You switch back and forth between the two characters in order to get through each of the many puzzles there are in the game. Each puzzle has a cryptic message written there that can have tips on how to get through the level, but the player can also easily perceive it as talking about the games overarching theme and plot. For the most part, the player is left to their own devices; the game only tells them the controls at the very beginning of the game and will warn them of new obstacles when they enter the first puzzle of an area. Beyond that, if you can't figure something out you are out of luck.
This is one of those games that requires near perfect execution of all of your platforming, which is guaranteed to frustrate some people. This is Super Meat Boy levels of hard, and it will mess some people up. There are points where you can actually get stuck and be forced to kill yourself in order to get out of those situations, which is a real hassle. While these moments are few and far between, it is still annoying when this happens since now you have to redo everything you just did. This game expects you to know what you're doing and will not show you any mercy. This only gets frustrating during the longer puzzles, because there's no checkpoint system. This means that if you die from one of those lovely one-hit deaths, you're going back to the start, no exceptions. A checkpoint system would have been nice in these situations, but at least there are no lives in this game so you can die as many times as you want. That said, it is still a little bit embarrassing when you are on the level select screen and the game shows you just how many times you died.
Full Review
I know I'm probably not the only person who will try this game because of the premise, knowing full well that platformers and jumping puzzles isn't a strong point of mine. I can say that this will be, at times, so rage-inducing that it takes you right out of the amazing premise. I want to like this so badly, but spend more time angry than admiring the experience.
As mentioned before - platformers and jumping puzzles are a complete challenge for me. It's not helped by the fact that the jump button doesn't always behave as intended (or, sometimes, at all) when moving/jumping simultaneously, and there are some blade deaths I really want to call "BS" on - and if I was better at this kind of game I might be able to overcome those glaring issues. I have died 200+ times, averaging almost 15 per level, though a couple levels make up for 50+ each.
I'm not sure I'll be able to finish (my profile says something like fourteen hours, it's been less than half that so far, I have a bad habit of letting things run in the background). This is a fault of mine. I just kind of hoped a game about social anxiety would be more approachable across the board, and more of an artistic expression of that kind of life (which I live), but I can't sit back and enjoy that as it's simply in a form that is impossible for me to enjoy, despite trying really hard to grind through it.
I *want* to recommend the game, and do, because I know the shortcomings are mine - but I have to rate this from the perspective of other people who may be more like me than the other reviewers - curiosity-seekers thinking of taking a risk on gameplay that isn't for them because they struggle with the game's main themes and want to see that reflected in a game.
[edits because I can't math at 5:51am]
The art style caught my eye when I was browsing through some indie games. This game isn't bad, but it's not incredible either. "Sym" isn't worth the original price or when I bought it on sale. You're just paying for the experience.
The game starts off giving you the basics on how to play. Nothing complicated at all. (Arrow keys to move around or A,S,D,W) The most challenging thing you will probably face are the spinning turbines, that you have to avoid while jumping on to a safe spot. You just need to have patience in order to avoid the obstacles. This game shouldn't be rushed or you will die. Personally it's a frustrating game that made me itch all over.
The vague and morbid messages are a tad too much for me. It felt like they were trying to scrap up some phrases and force them together. "God is not human" "That he should lie" "Not a human being"...It really depends on the individual and how they try to understand the game's message.
Would I recommend this game to anyone? it's really tough to say. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who has no patience or isn't really to keen on trying to make sense of what the game is trying to say.
My rating on this game: 6/10 (decent)
This game is one of the most unique games ive ever played. Has a great message behind it. Its actually really fun and has a really cool mechanic behind it. Its 100% worth your time and money. Really nicely done! This game needs more credit!
Sym is hard to really give a yay or nay on due to the fact that it's very much an experience that will be based on each individual. The game hits themes surronding social anxiety disorder, and those who are unfamilar with the affliction won't find a game that can make up for in its mechanics or gameplay. The gameplay is alright, there's a level of precision that the controls don't really help highlight, and while the switching between worlds can make for some interesting puzzle mechanics, it just doesn't have the grasp on gameplay to really succeed in that section.
However, it has strengths in its theming and the concepts behind it. The ideas it touches with the way it presents its games in black and white and the way you escape from the world is really interesting, and even the mechanics in the gameplay itself play toward these themes. It's most definitely an experience, and it's a game that will make me remember it for a little bit at this point. It's not a good “game”, it's an experience.
For some gameplay and commentary: http://youtu.be/an0Z2lyVy7c
Дополнительная информация
| Разработчик | Atrax Games |
| Платформы | Windows, Mac |
| Ограничение возраста | Нет |
| Дата релиза | 19.01.2025 |
| Metacritic | 61 |
| Отзывы пользователей | 77% положительных (13) |