By Alec Meer on January 4th, 2011 at 6:20 pm.
Kieron prophesised that the platformer renaissance was likely drawing to a close in his Super Meatboy thought-thunk just before Christmas, but while I suspect he’s on the money in terms of breakout, mainstream-bothering hits, I don’t think platforming’s going anywhere when it comes to small, experimental games. Running, jumping and optionally shooting/thumping remains an incredibly simple and most of all effective framework for toying with other ideas, especially in terms of narrative and aesthetics. The systems are straightforward and accessible, the development time and cost is low – you just can’t have that kind of efficiency at a small scale with pretty much any other genre.
Which brings me to Armor Games’ K.O.L.M., a game nominally about the running and the jumping, but actually about something else.
We’re back in the wee land of browser-based Flash games, which is precisely why the visual trickery on show is so impressive. It’s all in the camera – slightly shifting 2D screens, fuzzy blurovision to denote impaired robo-sight, and playability (what an ugly word, sorry) retained even at minute zoom-out. Most every screen in the game offers some mildly disorientating change from the last, which makes the Metroid-esque backtrack’n'upgrade structure all the more compelling.
It’s dreamlike and unpressured for the most part too, a world away from yer VVVVVVVs and Meat Boys. This is a game about piecing together the correct order of travel (via the narrative device of piecing a broken robot back together), not pushing your reflexes and spatial awareness to inhuman levels.
Throw in a little bit of narrative GlaDOSiness, some sinisterly calm music and an elegant control scheme, and you’re onto a very smart gamette. Thanks to CMaster for the tip – and also for offering the advice that it’s perhaps best to not head to the ultimate exit until prompted to do so.
04/01/2011 at 18:22 Handsome Dead says:
“HEY PORTAL WAS A REAL GOOD GAME YOU GUYS” – K.O.L.M. Developer
04/01/2011 at 18:27 Alec Meer says:
“Hey having some similar qualities to another game isn’t the same as being a rip-off you guys” – Sensible RPS Commenter
04/01/2011 at 18:35 Rich says:
Didn’t you realise Valve invented jumping Alec?
Not just in games. In real life too. I know I couldn’t jump before Portal came out.
04/01/2011 at 19:42 CMaster says:
Portal was far from the first game to do guiding-figure-who-is-actually-against-and-seemed-a-bit-sinister-all-along. I actually liked that in this one, Mother was never guiding – in fact, she often discouraged you. I though it was a pleasant contrast to the first Shift, advertised in the loading screen for KOLM (brilliant game, the sequels however threw in so many mechanics I couldn’t be bothered with them), which despite the initial suggestion it might go its own way, ends up just literally doing Portal, but with more failed attempts at humour.
05/01/2011 at 05:25 Bret says:
Yeah. I mean, at minimum, there’s SHODAN. And, for that matter, Durandal.
Well, to be fair Durandal seemed to like the player character, in his asshole way, and help slightly more often than not, but I figure threats to teleport you into space, kidnapping, and giving his own theme song rather than helpful advice counts enough for present purposes.
04/01/2011 at 18:36 Azeltir says:
How many ‘V’s is that there?
04/01/2011 at 18:45 RagingLion says:
Must be referencing the new expanded version with added content.
04/01/2011 at 18:55 man-eater chimp says:
It’s a ‘hold down shift, close your eyes and press V for an indeterminate amount of time’ number of V’s!
04/01/2011 at 19:15 Rich says:
I must have missed VVVVVVI, VVVVVVII, VVVVVVIII and VVVVVVIV?
04/01/2011 at 19:15 AndrewC says:
Maybe Smelly Kieron meant it in the sense of a critical mass of commenters saying ‘oh goooood not ANOTHER bleedin platformer’.
04/01/2011 at 19:29 AndrewC says:
It’s super lovely to play, though!
It’s awfully similar to tonnes of other ones, though.
04/01/2011 at 19:45 CMaster says:
@AndrewC
I agree. I was just charmed by the aesthetics of the thing really, which is why I forwarded it on to RPS. Also, I sent the tip in while about 60% of the way through, at 2:00 in the morning in broken English. As I was only part way through, I was hoping for a little more from the story – the reference to fratricide early on offered a hint of tragedy that was never really delivered on.
04/01/2011 at 19:27 8-bit says:
well I know being a metroid style game I should have seen it coming but I wasn’t expecting that ending to come when it did, I only got 93% items I wanted to go back for the rest. combat is a bit rubbish since I found it was easier and quicker to just let enemies kill me to clear a path, but otherwise a good game.
04/01/2011 at 19:39 DrazharLn says:
I didn’t think I intended this as a reply to you… Oh well.
I was awarded a fearsome -40pts at the end, mainly because I just let enemies kill me.
This is only the second time that RPS has thought that I was posting too quickly. Jeez. I went away and played the whole game before commenting and it took me an hour (didn’t realise you could shoot up, went back looking for things).
04/01/2011 at 22:51 phlebas says:
Got all the items and a final score of -3500. Profound, I’m sure.
04/01/2011 at 19:30 Jsnuk says:
I don’t like metroidvania games, sorry :(
04/01/2011 at 20:10 Tei says:
I got stuck. Probably skipped some important screen or something. Do these 1box passages are supposed to be passable?
04/01/2011 at 22:15 inertia says:
You find an upgrade boggle thingie somewhere and it lets you crouch if you hold the down key.
04/01/2011 at 20:27 snitchy says:
I liked the organic cave-like environment, but that meant that there were a lot of dead ends that had no purpose – not even a letter tile, just an empty space guarded by some enemies. I also fell out of the game at one point. Just plummeted underneath the level into the void and I thought it was cool how the camera kept following you into oblivion.
04/01/2011 at 20:31 Logo says:
I didn’t like this game, though the atmosphere was pretty good. The problem is it offers exploration, or pretends to, but in reality it doesn’t. For almost the entire game (I got to 70%) there’s only really 1 place worth going and all other directions are misleading and restricted. Even most of the special power-ups you’ll get via backtracking later on. So rather than feel like I was exploring an area like most Metroidvanias, I just felt like I was forced to wander until I picked the door that the creator intended for me to go through.
04/01/2011 at 21:34 Zyrxil says:
SPOILERS
I didn’t like the ending too much- not because it was ‘bad’, but it wasn’t creepy enough. They could’ve ended it by having you falling apart piece by piece as you try to escape, ending up with you in the state the game began in, as Mother wipes your memory and tries again in an unending cycle. I also just used ‘end’ 4 times in two sentences, and the Sentence Police are pounding down my door right now.
04/01/2011 at 22:15 inertia says:
I wish I was a robot. They lead such interesting lives.
04/01/2011 at 22:54 Mil says:
Cheer up! Maybe you’re one and you don’t know it.
05/01/2011 at 00:27 a.simons613 says:
Stuck at 46%. I must have done something wrong.
Good game, though.
05/01/2011 at 02:17 JackShandy says:
You’ll please me more when you’re complete :)
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