InFlux

In InFlux you play as a ball, which came from space. One of the Space Balls, if you will (zing!). You land on a place, and you proceed to roll around and gather blue firefly things to access greenhouse-like building in which you solve puzzles in order to make them project a beam of light into the sky. A beacon, maybe, to call your friends? I don't know, anyone's guess. There are two main problems with the game. The first one is that it's just boring. There are two components to it - exploration and, once you enter a building, puzzle solving. Problem is, you roll around environments which don't really reward exploration. Outside of a few additional firefly-thingies you never find ANYTHING. The other component is solving puzzles, and those aren't very good either. They're fun for a while (you rotate the entire space around, so the floor becomes a wall etc.) and later on in the game they vary it up a bit by adding jumping mechanics, but that's not enough. The featureless interiors of the buildings are boring to interact with, and most puzzles feel like busywork rather than something you engage with intelectually. Looking at the environments and gameplay, it's clear to me that the devs didn't have a firm grasp on what they wanted this game to be. The locations have a weird tribal-like vibe to them, which doesn't actually *mean* anything - it's like they went for the jungle because that's the sort of assets they felt comfortable using, but there's virtually no theme to the game and nothing working in the background to keep you going. No goal, no story, no driving force, no defining aesthetic or some sort of vision behind it that would be apparent. InFlux is a game about rolling a ball through environments and solving puzzles. And it's nothing more than that. If that's enough to keep your attention for the 2-3 hours of its supposed playtime, then try it out - if nothing more, it is reasonably relaxing. It wasn't enough for me though.

This could be a very nice game, but for me it's disappointing. Graphics have a nice style, but screenshots raised more expectations. Textures aren't very sharp, even at 1280x1024. Other Gamepads than Xbox 360 Pad won't be supported well, a wrapper like X360CE ist recommended. The biggest problem are the unsolved bugs. I can't complete a level because I get a white screen. This bug is well known (see Steam forums) and there is a beta patch for the Steam version, but nit for this one. And there will never ever come a patch to GOG. I wrote to the developers one year ago, but didn't get any answer. There is no story in the game, so there really isn't anything that gives you a reason to buy and play this game if you don't like gambling...

It's moderately pretty, but the trailer makes it looks a heck of a lot more exciting than it is. The puzzles give you no sense of satisfaction when you complete them because the solutions simply work themselves out -- you just press the button and move the ball into the goal and stuff happens... Not to mention the "collect the scattered/hidden blue dots to unlock the next puzzle". The entire game is just arbitrary and uninteresting. I could go on, but... Just save your money, please.

Game has no story, it is simply a 3d version of the arcade classic "marble madness" just with all of the fun removed. Gameplay is boring, controls are clunky, the scenery isn't even all that great. Somehow there's no "atmosphere" to the game even though it sells itself with pretty pictures. Save your money.

Are you the type of person that relishes extremely challenging puzzles that really tax your brain? If so, Influx isn't for you. But it is for those looking for the chance to explore a beautiful, diverse, mysterious environment with a little light puzzle solving along the way. Gameplay consists of two phases: Exploring gorgeous, intriguing environments full of caves, waterfalls, rivers, lush valleys, ruins, etc. and solving puzzles inside glass houses placed in this environment. The two play off each other nicely: you are allowed to explore new areas as a reward for completing a puzzle, and a puzzle crops up just when the exploration begins to get a little boring. As you play farther, the line begins to blur: you start solving more puzzles in the actual environment and less in the boxes. This all builds up to a stunning grand finale. The puzzles themselves are an interesting blend of Portal-style lateral thinking and platform challenges. There are a few easy puzzles at the beginning, and then the puzzles become medium difficulty thereafter: This means not so difficult you'll have to think the whole solution through before executing it, but not so easy that you can just try random stuff and finish the level. This is a departure from most puzzle games where the last few puzzles are fiendishly difficult, but it works well here. A fantastic game if you want to explore an amazing new world full of sights, sounds, and surprises. Less so if you want the next Portal.