Monochroma

A meld of stunning artwork and challenging gameplay make for a puzzle game that will entertain for hours on end, having players losing track of time, interpreting the meaning of Monochroma and connecting it to today's world. A platformer at its best, play Monochroma when the opportunity arises.

Despite its few problems though, Monochroma has a charm that’s undeniable. Whilst the graphics might not be the best, the striking art style and beautiful soundtrack carry the game and help to bolster your enjoyment from start to finish. There are some irksome puzzles along the way, but for the most part, they’re a pleasure to solve – and the mystery shrouding the narrative will spur you on in the hope of finding out just what is going on. At around three hours’ running time, there’s not a whole lot of game on offer, but if you enjoy a puzzle platformer and liked the style of Limbo, Monochroma...

Poor controls aside, Monochroma is an atmospheric and thoughtful journey through a shadowy and puzzle-filled world.

While obviously being influenced by games like Limbo, Monochroma has a flavor and story all its own. Monochroma is a good game at heart, but it's hidden under technical errors and gameplay flaws that gave me no end of frustration. If you're on the fence about buying this game, you should play the Demo they released with their Kickstarter project to see what you think. But at the very least, you should definitely check out the OST by Gevende.

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It was such a huge relief when you’re separated from your brother for almost an entire chapter and instead given a slew of disposable robots to help during puzzles. I gave more of a shit when the robot that just helped me solve a puzzle got crushed under a pillar than the entirety of the time spent with the younger brother. The game offers absolutely no reason why you should care about the two brothers and comes off as a cheap knock-off of a much better game.

Nowhere Studios did a great job marketing Monochroma as all of the trailers and initial gameplay show off the stunning graphics and a promising game premise. These are the aspects that caught my eye originally. Unfortunately, while Monochroma looks great, it doesn’t play half as great. The game premise and the graphics are just as good as what they were marketed to be, but the more I played, the more disappointed I became.

Stuck in the dark.

In the end, it is difficult to recommend Monochroma. Despite its impressive audiovisual presentation, it fails in the areas that make a game a game. It is beautiful in its own dismal way, and the story it tells is decent, but I could not wait for it to end so I would not have to deal with the frustrating control and dull design decisions.

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Super Meat Boy and Limbo; these are games that reward a player through failure. Those games were not afraid to show the player what they did wrong, and what you needed to do to progress. Failure was due to the player’s faults and mistakes. The failures you encounter in Monochroma are due to a poor physics engine and terrible controls. When it works and when puzzles mesh well, it’s still not very original. If you’ve played any of the platformers I’ve mentioned before then you have played Monochroma.