While we’ve covered a ton of metroidvania-style games to the point that the genre is well and truly overdone, occasionally one comes out that still catches us off guard. Exographer by developer SciFunGames and publisher Abylight Studios is that game today, taking the genre and adding a number of science-based mechanics to metroidvanis which have traditionally has played fast and loose with science.
Created by physicist and sci-fi author Raphael Granier de Cassagnac, the Exographer demo takes us through an emergency on a strange planet monitored by unknown beings. You play InI, an investigator tasked with discovering the source of the problem. In true video game fashion, you’re marooned on the planet and will have to find your way through the ruins of an advanced alien civilization using science to solve puzzles and repair broken technology.
The Exographer demo is short (less than an hour), but it gives you a pretty solid taste of what the game is like, providing access to early puzzle solving strategies. Equipment InI uses must be repaired with local technology and you can use your camera to detect otherwise invisible light frequencies, allowing you to manipulate physical lockouts and gain access to new areas. The cool thing about Exographer is that while it walks you through the mechanics of the game, those mechanics don’t necessarily explain everything fully, so you’re forced to (gasp!) think on your own!
Paying attention is key in Exographer as the game forces you to absorb lessons on how research mechanics work in order to succeed. Skip through the explanations and you’ll be struggling to figure out how to solve puzzles using the zoom tool, the wavelength detector, and other unique items. Manage to figure these things out and you’ll proceed with ease however as all of the puzzles in the demo are straightforward and rational.
Mechanically, the game is easy to control with the keyboard and mouse it is clearly designed for but a bit more challenging with a controller for some reason. Some of the options are slightly more difficult to control with the default keybindings and you might die a couple of extra times while getting the hang of turning certain abilities on and off, notably the ones that allow you to pass through the absurd blocks.
Keyboard controls aren’t perfect either however as the controller makes it much easier to snap pictures than the default keyboard binding. Taking pictures is important not only because key areas provide further information on what to do next through analysis but also because they serve as quick saves. Snap a picture and die and you’re returned to the last photo you took, so take those snaps early and often!
The visuals are also interesting with an endearing cartoonish look and detailed pixel backgrounds which complement the style well. The menu system is also well designed and the GUI is easy to navigate and has a nice aesthetic. The music is chill but entirely complementary too, with compositions by Yann Van Der Cruyssen of Stray and Cave Story fame.
Just as the flow of Exographer is really starting to get moving, the demo ends, leaving you wanting more from the game. As of this demo review, there is no firm release date for Exographer and it is listed as “To Be Announced”. The public demo does drop soon however and hopefully a tentative release date as well because this unique science-based metroidvania scheduled for release sometime this year has some serious potential!
This demo review is based on a demo provided by the publisher. Exographer is currently planned for Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and Playstation. All screenshots for this demo review are provided by the publisher and are of various parts of the game, not only the demo areas.
Nate Van Lindt has been a gamer since the days of yore (aka Commodore 64), and has played a bit of virtually everything out there. He's also an avid comic book collector, both vintage and current, and reads a fair amount of sci-fi and fantasy. On top of that, he watches a fair number of movies and TV shows as well. Oh, and he has a family, a full-time job, and lives somewhere in the urban wilds of Southwestern Ontario, Canada, foraging for old video cables and forgotten game soundtracks.
