Magrunner: Dark Pulse

Yes, it's a first person puzzler, and you have a gun playing with two colors. But that's it, nothing more can be compared. Portals are not "magnetized" objects. The mecanics are not comparables and the test chambers are soon replaced by a darker environment. Overall I found the puzzles challenging to solve past the 1st levels, with really clever solutions (sorry it's hard not to spoil). The horror references to Lovecraft are really well integrated, from the name of the character to the underlying plot, but I think some aspects are taken from the Cube movie. TL;DR meets and exceeds my expectations ^^

I usually don't write reviews, and to be honest, I didn't expect much from this game. I am a fan of strategy games, and I think puzzle games get boring after a while. But this one is an exception, and Magrunner has surprised me so much that I think it really deserves a good word. The game mechanics is as simple as it can get: You are in a room and can turn certain objects green or red. Same-colored objects attract each other, while opposite colors repel each other. Somewhere in the room there is an exit, and you have to get there. That's pretty much it. Now, that may sound overly simple, but wait and see it with your eyes. Each room is a puzzle, and the (later) puzzles are true masterpieces. The levels are very intelligently designed and offer a lot of variety: It's not about repeating the same basic moves at a larger scale. You will need *time* to understand how the hidden mechanisms work. Most levels will make you wonder things like "how the hell am I supposed to climb this 20m wall with a box and two platforms constrained to horizontal moves?". If you enjoy finding the answer to that kind of questions, you are going to love Magrunner. While the game has a first person perspective and you have to jump, run, etc, most of the puzzles do not require precise timing. You won't generally ruin the level if you jump with, say, one second delay. Something that I really appreciate – it's all about thinking. Side plus points: the storyline is engaging quite entertaining and the music is fine, too. I loved the ambiance of the last levels. Side negative point: The game calls the fancy process of object coloring "magnetism". A nuisance for purists like me (: I really hope to see a Magrunner 2!

The art, concept and voice acting are all fine, but the controlls feel fidley and imprecise. It doesn't feel like physics, as much as arbitrary scripting (that works about 2/3 of the time). And it's just weird to have like colors attract, when real-world magnetic attraction is all like-poles repelling and opposites attracting. I wish it would have been more about magnets and less about a way to reinvent Portal.

It's not going to blow you away but it's real satisfying!

Puzzle platformer very much inspired by Portal, but in the end adds some Cthulu and monsters chasing you to hurry you up. The story is nothing to write home about, most of the puzzles are artificial, they don't weave with the story or surroundings organically. Lots of annoying and fiddly flying platforms and you constantly dying, especially in Act 3. Will also test your reflexes towards the end.