Contrast

Contrast is an indie puzzle platformer developed by Compulsion Games for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and the PC. Although the game is, quite frankly, visually alluring, the game itself just isn’t neither challenging enough, nor does it invite you to replay it.

Set in the early 30’s, Contrast achieves the creation of a beautifully built atmosphere in which the ambient and characters make sense. This oneiric scenario, in which shadows and light fuse and where characters and buildings might as well be considered as the product Tim Burton working together with the team behind BioShock: Infinite, transmits a powerful aesthetic force, but, to be honest, the initial impression goes quickly unnoticed because of the lack of context or any explanation whatsoever. In lamest terms, Contrast abuses of the Mystery Box resources, just like J.J. Abrams does, and leaves the player confused and dazzled at the same time wondering what the hell just happened and where everything came from.

The story the game follows is quite simple, at the point it would be impossible to talk about it without revealing some key elements which would spoil the game for future players. We can just focus on Didi, the only daughter of a dysfunctional family and her imaginary (at least we can deem her as imaginary) acrobat stylish mute friend cleverly named Dawn, the controllable character with the ability of shifting between a corporeal form to the one of shadows. This feature reminds me of the newly released The Legend of Zelda: A Link between Worlds, in which Link has to shift between 2D and 3D in order to solve puzzles and reach other parts of the levels.

Notwithstanding the fact that the ability and its execution is pretty interesting, the puzzles Dawn has to face are a bit disappointing, not that much of a challenge, predictable and does not seem rewarding enough. Nevertheless, I have to admire the effort the game developers put into the construction of the world of shadows and how dynamic it seems sometimes. For example, one of the most interesting puzzles is a shadow puppet show in which Dawn has to play the role of a princess and travel through the story in the shadow world.

One of the main problems in the, otherwise, well-constructed world is the lack of context. On one hand, we have a noir-film ambiance with a lot of cabaret and jazz thematic (with a great soundtrack); on the other, we have unfinished roads, pitfalls and infinite abysses with floating rocks that have no further explanation. To that matter, neither the shadow world has any explanation either. The only, let’s say, tangible characters are Didi and Dawn, all of the other characters in the game are only visible through their shadows and only Didi is able to see them and interact with them. Furthermore, the game starts almost right away, with no introduction to the lore or the world whatsoever.

Gameplay-wise, Contrast is a simple and predictable game with little (or none) replay value. The game can be finished –with all the collectibles- in about 4 straight hours of play. Dawn, even though is presented as an acrobat, lacks of flexibility or any ability other than jumping a bit high. The movement span is very limited and, most of the time, you will find yourself moving boxes or round objects from one place to the other while you activate levers and switches. That makes the levels a bit repetitive in their construction.

To wrap things up, I would dare to say Contrast is a beautifully well-built game when it comes to design, graphics and color; however, the studio forgot they were making a game. It is a moderately fun game and a good option if you have some time to kill, but it is definitively not a game to die for. 

Jonathan Coutiño, NoobFeed
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