2023-07-23 20:05:56
Sephonie puts us in the shoes of some biologists trapped in Sephonia, an island with its own soul and many secrets.
Sephonie is a 3D puzzle and platform game that offers us a surreal adventure in the caves of an uninhabited island. The game, which launched in April 2022 for PC, landed on consoles on July 21. We have had the opportunity to play on Xbox Series X, although it is also available on Xbox One, PS4, PS5 and Nintendo Switch. Sephonie is the work of the duo of Marina Kittaka and Melos Han-Tani, nominated for the IGF Grand Prize for their previous works such as Anodyne 1 & 2, Even the Ocean and All Our Asias. Although in Sephonie, they have not been as inspired.
History
Sephonie puts us in the shoes of one of the three biologists who arrive on the island of Sephonie to investigate their creatures. However, a storm leaves us stranded on the island and we will have to explore the underground caverns to find a way out. In the search for the way we will find all kinds of obstacles, puzzles and creatures, as well as manifestations of their deepest memories and dreams.
The game’s story is revealed through dialogues between the characters and cinematic scenes that show us their past and their motivations. The game lasts approximately 10 hours, although it may vary depending on the level of exploration and difficulty in the puzzles that we choose.
gameplay
Sephonie’s gameplay is based on scenarios with obstacles through which we must advance. Thanks to a parkour-style movement system that allows us to run up the walls and jump, we’ll find the escape route from this strange island. Focusing on this section we can say that the control of the character is quite rough and imprecise. The jump and sprint concatenation is impossible to perform with a certain fluidity and hardly linkable to another action. All this due to the sparse work done on the animations. The vague level of precision achieved makes reaching a ledge or climbing up a wall a constant struggle with control. The part of platform of the game, which is 50% of the gameplay, is not worthy of even an Xbox Classic game.
Puzzles and little else
Sephonie It has a checkpoint system that allows us to resume the game from the last saved point, but also with a mode permadeath that forces us to start from the beginning if we die. In addition to this, the game challenges us to overcome different types of puzzles that require skill, logic, or memory. Some puzzles They are optional and allow us to access secret areas or unlock collectibles. These puzzles are accessed by approaching the beings that inhabit the island, be they plants, corals, animals o insects. Solving the puzzles will provide us with extensive information about biodiversity that will be very interesting as biologists that we are.
He method of resolution of the puzzles It is always the same, a board where we will place pieces that when more than three cubes match in color we can eliminate. The objective is to eliminate cubes until a bar is filled and unlock the information of the animal or plant in which we find ourselves. Each being that we unlock will provide us with a new token shape that we will use in the next puzzle. This makes solving them easier as we choose which tiles we will use. All this system that seems wide and varied, is not. In the end the mechanics are quite repetitive and except for some special board with obstacles, it is very monotonous.
Visually very weak
He visual section of the game is one of its poorest points of Sephonie. The game has a minimalist art style to the extreme. Colorful, yes, creating varied and original scenarios, but that look like a game from a few decades ago. At least, Sephonie It has a well-worked screenshot mode that allows us to pose with the characters and creatures we meet in the game and take fun photos. He sound section of the game is also very fair. The soundtrack and accompanying ambient sound is always monotonous and doesn’t reflect the moment or the atmosphere of the moment at all.
CONCLUSION
Sephonie It is a game that will not go down in history. It is an original and creative proposal that offers us a different adventure on a mysterious island. But here its benefits end. The game has a rough, spare and little worked gameplay if we talk about its concept as a platform game. It’s not challenging at all, and at times, we can describe it as frustrating and repetitive. The game has a very careless visual and sound section. Even though the story of Sephonie is interesting, it can be somewhat confusing and ambiguous. Unfortunately Sephonie Despite having positive aspects, such as a good story and original puzzles, see how its technical section weighs it down in such a way that it eclipses everything else.
Sephonie
15,99€
Pros
Interesting story Entertaining puzzle mechanics The information on species and animals is very entertaining.
Cons
Technically the game is very little worked. It is not translated or dubbed. The story becomes confusing at times The price is high for what it offers.
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