Antichamber

If I were smarter I'd probably love this. But I'm not, so I spent my time mostly getting stuck with no clues, being impressed by the design but not having any fun. Hello. I am part of the 5% who don't recommend a game that is considered a masterpiece. Pity me.

This is probably my most replayed game. It's short, it's sweet. I come back to it once a year. A one of a kind puzzle game that keeps the aesthetic up while being super easy to pick up and put down.

It insists upon itself. It really does. The game tries to look smart by introducing some "mind bending" puzzles/rooms/whatever at the beginning where you look at things at a certain way and they change, you exit and enter a room 3 times and it is now a different room etc. You know. Those type of stuff. And then you're given a device to solve block puzzles in order to progress. Now, I dont have any problems with those block puzzles, but I do have a problem with the device. You HAVE TO upgrade it in order to solve some puzzles. There are some puzzles you can only solve with the 4th upgrade for instance, and that puzzle might be presented to you right at the beginning due to the metroidvania nature of this game. The issue is that you never know what the next upgrade will bring. Let's say you are at upgrade level 2, and the puzzle to progress is in front of you. You just can't figure it out. You're trying to think of a way, trying to look at it from different angles (literally, since this pretentious game itself puts so much emphasis on that) but it doesnt work. Is there a way to solve this puzzle? Maybe. Or maybe, you should turn around, take the other path, turn around 8 times, solve another puzzle at a completely different place, jump 3 times which will take you to a hidden room to get to upgrade level 3. Now you can get back to puzzle #1 and obliterate it with upgrade level 3. It was impossible with upgrade level 2 to begin with. But since the game doesnt give any information on whether it is solveable or not, you dont know if you should think more or just look at the puzzle 2 times jump backwards turn left then right to open a new path to get an upgrade. I was able to complete the game by trial and error, just walking around going to places looking at weird objects from different angles then trying to jump to see if they get bigger or i get smaller or the whole world changes color or whatever. Yeah. It is THAT random. There is just no internal logic in this game. Feels like a fever dream. Not for me.

Really great puzzle game. I only now, after many years, gave it the time to really vibe with it and get through to the end. Great way to unravel and experiment with mechanics and progression. Epicly impossible realities in many ways which scratches the illusion and mind bendy itch while also making me curious how it was put together. Very clever but not incomprehensible to be daunting. Kudos.

Antichamber. Such unique game. This game is unique even in its own genre. Good luck. Have fun. And think outside the box. 5-20 hours of fun 10/10 ⭐️ (masterpiece)

Я прошёл её за 3 часа, но в голове она останется куда дольше. С первых минут игра обволакивает атмосферой: пустые коридоры, приглушённые звуки, мягкие цвета. Когда появляются инструменты для манипуляции кубами, возникает другая мысль. Мол, "а зачем решать головоломку, если можно просто протянуть себе мостик?" Я поймал себя на том, что с достаточным запасом терпения можно просто [i]перестроить[/i] себе путь куда угодно. Или, например, тупо пройти через те самые самовосстанавливающиеся кубы, просто выдержав темп. В этот момент возникает вопрос: [b]Прохожу ли я правильно? Или играю не по правилам?[/b] Antichamber не даёт ответов. Она не говорит: «ты сделал неправильно». Она только наблюдает. И, может быть, половину игры я прошёл не так, как надо.

A fantastic psychodelic puzzle adventure that really makes you think out of the box, it's also surprisingly soothing to play time and time again, and the overall experience really sticks with you. Definitely one of my favorite 3D puzzle-type games ever made.