In the indie sector, like in Greece, there is everything. A bread simulator, a simulator of an unfinished game about an unfinished game (we are talking about the recent The Magic Circle ), a mage shooter in the mechanics of a dungeon crawler, a "tiekun" about running a typical tavern or armory shop in the world of upright potatoes (see Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop? ! ). And now, thanks to the Swedes from Gatling Goat Studios , there is also a puzzle / platformer about a brave girl, simultaneously reminiscent of Portal , Fallout and BioShock .
Traverser bribes first of all its unusual universe. Swedes paint the world at the junction of post-apocalypse, steampunk and anti-utopia. As a result of a certain catastrophe, the Sun was extinguished, and the survivors were forced to go underground. The last stronghold of mankind has become the city of Brimstone, which literally soars above the currents of lava (the matter, we recall, occurs underground). The city is divided into the Upper and Lower levels, where some, of course, eat all the fruits, while others vegetate.
Although there is really nothing to eat. Even in the Upper City, there is an acute shortage of clean air, and even in Nizhny Novgorod one can not be without a mask at all. In this situation, of course, someone had to take everything under their control. This someone became the all-powerful and all-seeing Raven Corporation, which monitors the order, clogs the brain with its propaganda and controls the supply of fresh air. However, there are underground revolutionaries in the city who are dissatisfied with the monopoly of Raven Corporation.
The power of the corporation is largely based on various inventions. Bots and drones follow the order here, and there are also "bellows" and specially trained people, those "travorsers" who can move and throw all kinds of heavy objects with anti-gravity gloves.
We are playing for the girl Valerie, who just passed the exam for the right to be such a "traver". She rather ran to share the joyful news with her father, a well-known inventor, but he disappeared without a trace. Trying to find him and save him, Valery, as usual, will oppose a powerful corporation, disclose her filthy secrets, get along with the opposition and find out the terrible truth about what happened to the world and to the Sun.
Gameplay in Traverser is also made at the junction of three directions - adventure, puzzle / platformer and stealth. Valerie can run around the city freely enough, go into open doors, communicate with different characters, carry out their assignments, view stylish propaganda posters and videos, and find interesting notes and secrets.
However, at key moments it is required to solve the task, using an anti-gravity glove. Situations are different - from simple "put boxes on top of each other to get much higher" to complex puzzles, when we, as in the designer, collect from different parts of some pipes or redirect flows of energy reflected from the mirrors.
There are extreme jumps on floating in the acid or hanging in the air boxes, and deadly traps testing the speed of your reaction, and just interesting puzzles, in which we, for example, need to decode the code from the door. And even long, exhausting battles with the "bosses", where the reaction is involved, and the glove and the brain. In addition, periodically you need to move between the Lower and Upper City, using special portals.
In some situations, Valerie should act secretly: sneak past the guards in nosy masks, hide in closets and play hide and seek with surveillance cameras. And if it is noticed, then you have to run away, arranging behind you a blockage of barrels and boxes. You can try to stun the pursuer with something heavy - our heroine easily raises almost everything that is on the level. And just as easily breaks a stone wall or explodes with dynamite stones blocking the path - the physical model in the Traverser at altitude.
The claim to the game, by and large, one - too little (and management is not always convenient). The Swedes came up with an unusual setting, an interesting concept, memorable heroes, at the same time a touching, sad and tense story. They supplemented this with a good sense of humor (especially remembered professor-maniac, crazy in rats) and bright visual stylistics, for which already received several profile awards. It's no wonder that in this world I want to stay longer. So we hope to continue the story of a young, but very bold and resourceful girl named Valerie.
Rate:8/10
