Have You Played... Proteus?

Have You Played? is an endless stream of game retrospectives. One a day, every day of the year, perhaps for all time.

It's a challenge to effectively portray the peculiar emotional effect of playing Proteus [official site]. Perhaps the flagship entry in the RPS-celebrated 'walking simulator' genre, it's a pixel painting of seasonal wonder.

A uniquely generated space is crafted for each new game, and then you wander about in it. And really, that's it. The magic is in the wandering. The world is filled with intricately animated flora and fauna, colours shift, day turns to night, different creatures and behaviours appear, and as you progress the seasons shift through a year.

Sound is incredibly crucial. As you move around the world, where you go, what you explore, dynamically changes the music you hear. You begin to realise that through your movement you create this joyful sound, embellishing an already wonderful experience into something spectacular. And the results are something that cause me absolute elation. Proteus taps into something important inside of me, and creates a glorious place to be. You should go there too.