Many a game revolves around one mastered concept. Portal nailed this by the use of, obviously, portals. Since then very few games have nailed the ‘think with our concept’ mentality up until this point.
Magnetic: Cage Closed is a game that has hit this spot on. When I picked this up I was thinking that ‘thinking with magnets’ would become ‘Gravity Gun 2.0’ very quickly. Yet I was very wrong, and I’m thankful I was horrifically mistaken. This game admits up front its origins and relations to Portal and The Cube; but does not commit a horrific asset-flip-esque rip off and makes a game unique enough to sate you for a short time until Portal 3.
You play the role of a female prisoner whose crime is unknown and yet has been sentenced to life imprisonment. Because of this, you are offered the chance at redemption in a clandestine program that consists of completing chamber puzzles with the assistance of a magnetic gun. Whilst you take part in this, you hear the voices of your handlers over intercom; who vary between belittling you in a classy fashion to discussing the morals of humanity with you. In a deviation from its influences you are presented with decisions throughout the game which can cause death if you fail or affect the future of others. One decision involves another criminal who killed her long-time abuser; and you are given the option of letting her fulfil her death sentence or volunteering her for the program you are also in. Not heady stuff but enough to pose thought.
The gameplay is as you expect from a game of this type. You enter a chamber and must solve the puzzle to get to the exit. The magnetic gun is important to the finish of every puzzle, which can have multiple ways to finish the game. The chambers boast varied puzzles with many a deadly trap and magnetic object to abuse. Nonetheless no chamber should be too taxing and a little thought can solve even the toughest chambers. You will likely restart some chambers once or twice but getting stuck is extremely unlikely. Story is delivered through the intercom and transport sections where you move between chambers and your quarters.
The magnetic gun is a wonderful unique weapon. It has two settings: Push and pull and can hold small blocks which are pulled into it. The strength of the directed magnetic field can be changed across three settings to improve specificity in action. Throughout the game the magnet gun will save your life on multiple occasions but it is not god hand and do not expect it to save you and do everything.
The game looks impressive and draws you into the damaged, ruined look of the facility. Most of the areas are in a drab concrete and steel style and gives the areas an industrial feel and a much rougher, lived in look than say Portal. There are several areas of the game which have a more polished feel to them; and this is used normally to denote a change in game style from puzzle to moral-choice. The voice- acting is also great, with voices fitting a character’s personality from the booming demeaning tones of one to the soft female voice of another which allows for a deep immersion in the game. The soundtrack is somewhat forgettable though, with nothing standing out and you’ll never want to rest in a chamber just to hear the music.
So are there any problems with the game? Well bug-wise I ran into no issues whilst running it. There were no game crashes or unplayable pieces of it; and Guru Games really has made an effort to push out a high-quality unbroken game. My only issue is that it is a quite short game and I would have loved a bit of extra gameplay time and a bit more story depth. The game will take a logic-minded soul around 3 to 4 hours to complete, roughly the length of the first Portal game. However there are nine possible endings to the game as well as 29 achievements, multiple secret areas and a time trial options for the competitive amongst you. So you can squeeze a good amount of time from the game for the cost of £11.99.
As it is I have no qualms telling everyone about this game and encouraging them to buy it. This game is Portal’s whisky drinking sibling. You get the fun puzzle experience of Portal once again. Guru Games have gone off with a beautiful start with this masterpiece and have set the bar high for their next project. This game is a 5. And maybe, just maybe, if enough people buy it then Valve will realise we like this style of game and get a move on with Portal 3. We can only hope.
Steam Page:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/344410
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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