Game review

Or: How to Rediscover a Classic without Even Playing It

Sometimes, you need to see the cheap knockoff to appreciate the original.

I picked up Magrunner: Dark Pulse quite by accident. I liked the picture of the main protagonist on the promo images. The problem is of course that the game is played in first person perspective so you never see the protagonist in the first place. Pity really.

In Magrunner, you have a gun. You can fire at things (mostly cubes) and charge them magnetically. They will then attract or repel each other. Use these contraptions to solve puzzles. Does it sound familiar? Of course it does. It is a Portal clone. And, as I can say after playing three quarters of the game, not the very best. You can watch me play the game here. Or read my review of it. Warning: slight spoilers ahead.

If you care about Swiss game design, then you have some serious playing to do. In the last few weeks two games have been released that couldn’t be more different. On second glance however, it becomes apparent that they share the same qualities.

These games are Journey of a Roach by Koboldgames and Drei by Etter Studios.