Vessel

Game Info

Steampunk, liquid, & physics.  These three ingredients are what make up the majority of new puzzle/platformer Vessel from Strange Loop games.  The game takes place in and around the laboratory of an inventor that created the living matter beings that are causing problems for the surrounding area.  The beings in question are dubbed “living liquid machines” and they retain the properties of the liquids they are created from, be it water, lava, or gooey chemicals.  These creatures are used to reactivate machines, open gates and get in the way of your controlled character.  You can guide these creations to where they need to go via lights and switches, or by simply picking them up and carrying them.  This latter method can also be used to influence the other liquids that appear on the stage, whether it’s attracting water out of grates or cooling down lava flows.

I found the concept to be an interesting one, but unfortunately found the actual execution a little boring.  Things start out simple enough with a kind of prologue, using basic platforming to get you where you need to go. Things do ramp up pretty quickly. As you explore, you can find special protoplasm to upgrade your backpack apparatus, and these upgrades can help you move the liquid around to make some puzzles easier.  All the help is welcome too, because I had several times where I would wander into a room with no idea what to do.  I’m not sure if that’s a product of the main gameplay area blending in with backgrounds or just me sucking at the game, but it was an issue for me and the difficulty spike seems to be pretty steep once you get into the real meat of the game.  Don’t get me wrong, the puzzles can get pretty clever, but ones that felt like busy work and ones that felt needlessly vague surround those.

The art style is very interesting.  Some parts look really cool, like the glow from lava or the detailed machinery.  But for the most part, I found it a little disappointing.  The model of your character looks awkward in all of his movement, especially when climbing up and down ladders.  I don’t know if they were intentionally going for weird animations here, but it looked off.  The liquid is more of a mixed bag.  At times it would move really well and look completely natural, and others it would take on that awkward aesthetic and look pasty and beaded.  Maybe the water drops had to be bigger at times so they could be seen, but it seemed to reflect the inconsistency throughout my experience.  The music is pretty cool and fits the atmosphere well.  It’s piano tinged electronic ambiance at its finest and one of the high points of the game for me.  The water sound effects are also very well done, creating a treat for your ears as you play.

Behind the gameplay is a story that you can choose or choose not to pay any attention to by finding old journal pages.  After finding several, I found I just didn’t care.  It’s not horrible by any means, but it didn’t grab my attention or give me much motivation to read more.  There’s a lot of content here to work through, so if a story is what keeps you going, be aware that it’s not the most captivating one in the world.

THE RECOMMENDATION

I was disappointed I didn’t like Vessel as much as I thought I would.  I am always open to new concepts and clever puzzles in my platformers, and this game has them.  That’s why it’s too bad that the developers couldn’t craft a fun experience around the few enjoyable stages I ran across.  This is a game probably more suited for you hard-core physics puzzlers, and less for your run-of-the-mill gamer.