I'm already at my next game on the Steam backlog. Hooray for progress! BACKGROUND:
This is yet another random Steam sale purchase. You've probably noticed that this is the case for a lot of the games I've been discussing. I didn't play this game for very long (according to my activity log, anyway), but I recall being intrigued by its one-of-a-kind gameplay. Now, I'll have a chance to actually take my time with it and talk about it here. PLOT: The light in the galaxy is fading, and a singularity is consuming everything in its path. Apparently, you (a seemingly sentient ball of light) are the galaxy's last hope, and you have to travel through the solar system and reach the sun to restore the light. Most of this narrative is relayed to you through text in between levels. Nothing is really explained in detail (e.g. what exactly you are, why this is happening, who put the shit in the levels there, why you have to reach a random star on the outer arm of a galaxy to restore light to its entirety), so it's hard to actually appreciate the premise. It's interesting to me on paper, but there's just too little context for me to really get into it. Thankfully, this isn't a story-driven game, so I don't mind that much. PRESENTATION: The game is set in space, and it captures the dazzling sights of the cosmos well. Although it's not the most cutting-edge in terms of graphics, the backgrounds still look lovely and the level elements glow beautifully in various colors. The soundtrack is excellent, with many of the tracks having a techno vibe (with a few even having hints of retro chiptune). Most of the music is on the chill side, but there are a few faster-paced tracks that get your heart pumping. GAMEPLAY: The basic idea of Waveform is that you control a ball of light through a series of auto-scrolling levels. Where it gets super interesting is how you actually manipulate the movement: instead of directly manipulating the ball, the only thing you can control is the path it travels through. Your ball's path is, unsurprisingly, a wave, and it will travel through it without fail. In order to alter your path, you can manipulate the amplitude (the wave's maximum height) and wavelength by simply dragging your mouse around. It sounds complicated (wave motion is no joke in physics, after all), but it's super intuitive in practice, and I think most people will understand it ten seconds into the tutorial level. However, this is definitely one of those "easy to learn, hard to master" kind of game; figuring out the exact amplitude and wavelength you need to get through levels takes a fair bit of trial and error. Along each level, you will collect light orbs, which add to your score total. The initial challenge is collecting as much orbs as you can by adjusting your wave on the fly; collecting all the orbs in a series gives you a boost of speed (and points). It feels satisfying to get the wave just right and get every orb in one go, but doing so requires a lot of precision (especially in later levels, which have other mechanics you have to contend with). As you go along, the game will introduce more mechanics. These range from hazards you have to weave through (like space squids and asteroids), rings that give you score multipliers and an extra hit against hazards, colored elements (and ways to change your light's color in order to interact with said elements), lines that give you lots of points if you trace them with your wave perfectly, stuff that alters your wave significantly (like mirrors and worm holes), and more. The game introduces each element in its own level, giving you a relatively safe space to understand them, and gradually integrates them in the succeeding levels, often in conjunction with other mechanics. The challenge really ramps up when the game starts mixing several mechanics together, and collecting orbs starts to become even tougher when you have to juggle adjusting your path to both intercept the orbs and deal with obstacles. There are 11 zones in total, with each zone representing a part of the solar system you're traveling through (you start in Pluto, then go through each gas giant, pass through the asteroid belt, then the terrestrial planets, and end in the Sun). Each zone has a decent amount of levels, and they all introduce a new mechanic every time, which kind of gives the zone its own "theme" in terms of gameplay. For instance, the asteroid belt is the first time you'll asteroids (who would've guessed) that damage you if you hit them, and all its levels feature them prominently. Every level has a maximum score threshold, and you are awarded stars at the end based on how close you got to it (1 star per 10%). These stars are not just an indicator of performance, but are required to unlock levels as you progress. There's no real obligation to collect these stars, and you can play the game as casually as you want (for reference, I got mostly ~40% in most of my playthroughs and got through most of the game just fine). However, if you want to unlock every single level, you actually have to try and get good scores in as many levels as possible, and given the level of precision you need to maximize your score, getting many stars may be easier said than done. Of course, you can replay levels at your leisure in an attempt to improve and get a better score, but it can start to feel like a chore when you just want to unlock the next level and see something new. Nearly every zone has a bonus level which requires a lot of stars to unlock. These levels often have a unique modifier you have to contend with; for example, one of the bonus levels has the Twinkling modifier, which means level elements periodically blink in and out of view. It unfortunately takes a whole lot of grinding to even unlock these levels, but if you enjoy playing through as many unique levels as possible, it may be worthwhile to unlock them. In addition, you also have the occasional black hole level. These are unlocked by going through black holes in regular levels; think of them as this game's take on warp zones. Black hole levels dim over time, and you need to collect starlight to keep everything visible. Accessing these levels is a fun challenge in itself. The last regular level of each zone is structured like a chase; in them, you have to outrun a singularity that's sucking up everything in its vicinity. Here, you have to maintain as much speed as you can (which requires collecting orbs almost perfectly and not getting hit by hazards), as well as taking advantage of any speed boost mechanics on the way (like rocket fuel or particle accelerators). These levels can get a bit stressful, as there's usually not a lot of room for error. Fortunately, these levels (as well as other levels with a lot of hazards) tend to have checkpoints. Beating the last level in each zone unlocks Deep Space Mode in that area, which is basically the game's endless mode. This is the game's purely arcade experience, and all you have to do is survive as long as you can through the randomly-generated level, while collecting as many points as you can. If you're a competitive sort with a need to chase the leaderboards, you'll get a kick out of this mode. This game has a ton of achievements, ranging from the easy to incredibly demanding. They actually give you stars if you complete them, so knocking a few off can actually be helpful if you're trying to unlock levels. Apparently, there's DLC for this that adds a new zone based on the dwarf planet Eris. I didn't get it, though I assume it's just more levels with some new mechanics. VERDICT: Waveform is a rather unique game with a truly novel core mechanic, and it has a ton of levels that push the wave manipulation to the limit. Though it can be enjoyed casually and one can simply take in the pretty visuals and enjoyable soundtrack, it also provides a decent (sometimes frustrating) challenge to completionists and leaderboard-chasers alike with the amount of precision many of the levels demand. This game is pretty cheap on Steam, so if you're interested at all in the gameplay, it may be worth checking out if you have the extra cash. Waveform on Steam (steampowered.com) - end -
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Archives
June 2024
Derryck
|