Small, colorful, silent, almost shapeless: like a colored spot on the screen, Squishy is the protagonist of Semblance, the new puzzle / platform developed by the South African team Nyamakop. Staring at him in those little bright eyes pulls a smile; having played the title of which he is the protagonist, he tore an "oh!" of amazement!
Semblance is a mix of a classic two-dimensional platformer, where the player is asked to move from left to right (and vice versa), and from top to bottom (and vice versa!), and a challenging puzzle game, where by relying little on your gray matter, you are not going anywhere!
MOVE OR "MODEL" YOU FOR THE HOLIDAYS!
The player is given the opportunity to shape the game world at will, in order to “Bend” the enchanting and colorful scenarios that appear on the screen at your will, in order to proceed. However, simply progressing towards the end of the level is not the only goal, because it just so happens that in Semblance there is also a minimum of plot. We are certainly not talking about the infinite dialogues of “Kojimiana” memory (pass us the term), but neither about the total absence of any line of text capable of justifying the deeds of our little and shapeless hero.
The salvation of the world is in the wilderness.
(Henry David Thoreau)
Apparently, the beautiful forest is not doing so well; attacked by a sort of corruption, it is slowly "fading" in front of Squishy's bright eyes. It's up to the player, therefore, collect some luminous balls scattered between the levels to restore light to nature. Here comes the beauty: reaching the spheres does not require the classic timing (and a certain level of skill) typical of platformers. Semblance is in fact characterized by a slow and reasoned rhythm, where the jump is the last thing to do, because first you have to "bend" the game world to your will. Squishy has the ability to change shape (it can stretch and "spread" on the ground) and perform certain actions such as, for example, making many small parts of its body "explode" to move objects that are near it. By raising, lowering and moving the various elements present in the game scenario, our little hero will have access to the precious luminous spheres, as well as to the next level.
PRECISE BUT INFORME: THE (ALMOST) OXYMOR SEMBLANCE
Therefore, Semblance has bewitched us for the graphic style, for the likeable protagonist and for a structure of the levels at times brilliant, where those with little gray matter will be destined to go little way. There is also a minimum of plot, which never hurts, just to justify at least a little the reason for so much effort in trying to save a ruined forest. What went wrong? The only aspect that doesn't work in this colorful puzzle / platform game is to be found in the too much (really, too much!) precision required to players at certain points in the levels.
Thus we end up in a vortex of continuous attempts, a dangerous “trial and error” that in the long run could tire the least patient among you. The problem is that, when you want to offer the public a title of a certain complexity, it should be "regulated" by a sense of "justice". In the sense: give me the (technical) means available to overcome the obstacle, then leave it to my ability. Unfortunately, polygonal collision management is not always perfect in Semblance, and the control system is not suited to offer this level of accuracy. Fortunately, these critical points have not been a constant, but they are undoubtedly an unpleasant exception, which we would have gladly done without.
