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Preview

Aug 16, 2012

Colour Bind Preview

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If you were ever wondering about whether a game could accomplish great design and functionality just by using basic geometric shapes with primary and secondary colors and still be good? Colour Bind is it.

It actually took me a few minutes to actually start the game because I got caught up highlighting the logo and discovered some hidden challenges of the white dots on the screen. A neat touch by the nearly one-man developer, Finn. ColourBind starts you off with some basic mechanics of showing you how color affects the gravity in a level and other basic elements. Quickly, and I mean very quickly do the training wheels come off.

To complete each level, you must take your basic soap box derby racer (or perhaps it’s a moon buggy) across the level efficiently to earn a medal. This two-wheeled vehicle is your mode of transportation to help complete the puzzles that lie ahead. Each of the levels uses RGB (red, green, blue) to affect gravity. Each color is tied to a directional gravity. Though, each color is not tied to a certain gravity rule, it can change from level to level. There are basic platforming  and timed jumps, switches to hit, color changes, and jumping with the use of an ability that embiggens your tires to complete the tasks.

It is worth noting that there are options for the color blind.

To say the game is hard is quite apt. It’s punishing because we’ve been pascified by other puzzle games in the genre that have held our hand too much. There is some careful thought in each level that warrants a different type of thinking. The basic descriptions before entering a level give some insight, but are vague enough that it may not become apparant until a few times of retrying a level. Once you do get it, it’s a real achievement personally to learn about how your brain processes these puzzles to be able to complete them. However, the game quickly returns you to reality by telling you that you didn’t earn a medal or could have gotten a higher medal if you were just 0.24 seconds faster.

Colour Bind isn’t just a solo adventure though, find someone to share a keyboard or gamepad with, and you can play separate co-op levels specifically designed for communicating with a friend or family member. There is no online modes to play together, but that’s quite alright. A bonus I didn’t think would come with the game is a Level Editor. Want to be as sadistic as the game’s developer and make your own level? The tools are all there for you to be able to do so. Me, I decided to make a level so easy I was able to get a gold medal on just to make myself feel better.

ColourBind is fantastic. Do not be fooled by the graphics, it’s all in the gameplay and is a better game for it. Look for it coming out soon.