Lemma Follows In The Footsteps Of Bastion, Mirror's Edge
The world beneath your feet
As a semi-longtime games journo (and hobbyist coal miner), I've seen my fair share of diamonds in the rough. Some eventually go the distance and gleam like a million smiling suns, while others... well, they don't fare so well. And yet, even after losing countless hopefuls (and also canaries), I'm not ready to give up hope on promising upstarts like Lemma. The rune-encrusted run-leaper has evolved significantly since Adam first highlighted it, combining the path-producing footfall's of something like Bastion with Mirror's Edge's feather-like grace and, er, color scheme. It still looks a little janky, but I'm ready to place two of my crossed fingers before its altar. New trailer below.
It really is quite the concept. Basically, each of your parkour moves creates your environment. The goal? Creative player expression through blinding forward motion.
"You can modify the environment in Lemma through several different systems that work together. The first allows you to extend an existing wall or platform by running off the edge of it. Keep running as if the wall does not end, and the game fills in the gap for you."
"Every voxel is fully physics-enabled. These aren't Minecraft voxels where you can knock out the base of a tree and the upper branches just float in the air. Some levels require you to strategically destroy supports holding up sections of the level."
So it's a building game of sorts, except not quite as open and instead of navigating menus you just... run. There's something kinda poetic about that, I think. We are the steps we take and oh god everything I touch turns to blocks noooooo my only child whyyyyy. Simply beautiful.
Lemma is currently on Kickstarter, and it's not doing too shabby, all told. It's already made nearly $3,000 of its $10,000 goal, and it still has a few weeks left on the clock. Assuming the Internet gives this one its dollar-shaped seal of approval, it'll be out at the end of 2014. What do you think of this diamond? Is it worth its weight in nickels and dimes?*
*That would actually be an incredibly cheap diamond. Welp, time to turn in my license to metaphor.