Reflexio

The objective is in Reflexio is fairly simple. Playing as Joey the koala, the goal is to collect the zippers scattered around each stage that will open a door to the next level. The hook to the game is the aforementioned ability to manipulate the world. Certain points along the edge of the board indicate axes over which players can reflect most elements on the stage. Joey stays in place while zippers, the exit, and blocks or spikes are flipped across the chosen axis. The player can also move Joey around the stage with simple left, right, and jump controls. Timing jumps so that the player performs a reflection in mid-air and lands on a platform that wasn’t there when the jump was started is perhaps the gameplay element where the most fun can be found. It can also take the longest to get used to.

The game does a great job with scaling the difficulty level and gameplay twists introduced. The early stages act as a kind of tutorial introducing one new element a time. Vertical, horizontal, and diagonal axes become standard across most stages. Then the player is introduced to blocks that are immune to the reflective mechanic. A moveable box and the ability to open up new axes through puzzle elements are eventually introduced later on. For about 2/3 of the game, there are a number of moments I found myself saying something to the effect of “Ooh, that was clever” and giving the developers a virtual high-five. These moments would compare favorably to those experienced while playing Portal and other titles that include puzzles combining platforming, timing, and creative solutions.

Reflexio starts inauspiciously and gradually ramps up the difficulty on players

Some of the later stages I found a little too tedious in that it becomes necessary to meticulously count blocks and spacing in anticipation of not getting crushed when performing the next reflection. Some stages require a couple dozen of these situations and should the player mess up once, he/she will have to start completely over. It’s not expected for the player to make it through all stages in one or even half a dozen tries. In fact, the built-in achievement system includes a few goals related to how many times and ways you fail. It never gets to the point where the player is likely to exit the game in frustration, but it can damper the experience just a bit.

The presentation of the game is something of a quandary. It’s definitely family-friendly in its backgrounds, character design, and music. It has the potential to be a little off-putting for older gamers, but after a few stages it’s unlikely players will even notice it anymore. It’s certainly no reason to not play a game that has the kind of puzzles that will tickle brains of all ages.

Timing and planning are key in solving Reflexio’s multi-dimensional puzzles

Reflexio is a great example of a simple premise combined with solid execution. Its looks may be sugar-coated but the foundation is likely to please all gamers that enjoy exercising their mind. While the experience won’t last for more than a few hours for the saavy puzzler, I wholeheartedly recommend it. There’s a demo available for download, and should players wish to purchase the game, it’s selling through the studio’s website, Desura, and IndieCity.

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆ 

This game was reviewed using a copy provided by the developer for that purpose.

© 2012 – 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Indie developers Box Jellyfish Studios have released a demo for their upcoming platformer Reflexio. The game originally started as a college project and was so well received that the five members decided to make it a full-fledged commercial game. It even took two category wins at the Cornell GDIAC 2011 Showcase.

I took the opportunity to play through the PC demo which includes around a dozen or so levels. The goal of each level is to collect all keys on the stage which will open a door to get to the next level. The game does a good job of slowly walking you through the controls which start as basic directional movements and jumps, but eventually work their way up to manipulating the majority of the stage. The hook of Reflexio is that you can pivot certain types of blocks, keys, and the exit across axes. Each stage has different horizontal, vertical, and diagonal axes that you can swap between in order to shift those objects and yourself towards your goal.

Flip the world on its axis to avoid perilous obstacles

There’s an experimental factor when you combine the jumping platforming elements with the environmental changes that favorably compares to games like Portal or to a lesser extent a strictly environmental physics game like Cut the Rope. While the tutorial stages do a good job of showing you how the mechanics work, there’s still a bit of a learning curve when you mix in timed jumps to the equation. That’s not to say it’s painful. I very much enjoyed the trial-and-error aspect when filling in the gaps the tutorial doesn’t cover. The demo has some clever uses of the mechanics and I’m interested to see whether they extend the bag of tricks throughout the full game.

The presentation in Reflexio trends towards cutesy. Your main character is a koala carrying an umbrella and wearing a diaper. The music is upbeat. warm, and cheery, but that completely belies the difficulty involved in mastering the game. It all works though. Aside from the initial reaction, I never felt like I was playing a children’s game.

I had a lot of fun playing the early build of this puzzle game and I’m anxious to see what the full version has in store. The Reflexio demo is available right now for PC, and that version will release on May 1st through Desura, IndieCity, and directly through the Reflexio website. The release date for the planned Xbox version is still TBD.

© 2012 – 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.