About three decades ago the NES took the video game world by storm, with many games on it defining the platforming genre. Since then, games have become a much more accessible platform for developers, with available tools allowing for people with no experience to jump into development. The indie scene has meant lots of competition, and a fair amount of solid games within the platforming genre.

Octahedron is the latest game from the Square Enix Collective, coming from the one man developer Demimonde. Along the lines of recent platforming greats like Celeste, VVVVVV, and Super Meat Boy, this looks to take a place among the big names of the past decade. It starts off very drab as the protagonist is drawn to a very colorful shape that transforms and transports him to another world. In order to get back home, the challenges awaiting the character must be completed.

Opposed to the typical left to right gameplay, this focuses on vertical platforming. And rather than jumping on preexisting platforms, you’ll be given the opportunity to create your own and ride them for short distances. Just when you think you’ve mastered the mechanics, the next level introduces something new to learn. Luckily, the game is nice about doing this, providing you a few lives per level. Should you lose all your life, you’ll start at the beginning of the level but maintain all the collectibles you’ve gotten. Should you lose all your lives, you’ll have to start from scratch.

As you make your way through the puzzles of increasing difficulty, you’ll find yourself entranced by the game’s music. While it’s not strictly required to play to the beat like Frequency or Crypt of the Necrodancer, you’ll often times find yourself jumping and bouncing to the never ending beat from artists you are bound to recognize, such as Chipzel and Monomirror. The infectious rhythms will be stuck in your head for days beyond playing it.

Perhaps just as enticing as the music are the visuals that the game presents the player with. Mere screenshots do not do the colorful euphoria justice, as you’ll no doubt see in the trailer above. Of course, visuals with such strong personality have the potential to become a bit overbearing, and the later levels occasionally suffer from this. It’s here that the game requires your utmost patience and is perhaps the most trying as you progress.

If you’re a fan of platformers, there’s a ton for you to choose from in this day and age. There are plenty that are awful, many that are good, and a select few are great. Octahedron falls in the last category, creating an experience that is both familiar and uniquely fresh in a genre that is tried and true.

9 out of 10

Pros

• In-Depth Platforming
• Exhilarating Soundtrack
• Unique Mechanics

Cons

• Overly Stimulating Ending Levels

Octahedron was developed by Demimonde Games and published by Square Enix. It launched on PC, PS4 and XB1 on March 20th, 2018 for $12.99. The game was provided to us for review on PS4. For more on Octahedron, check out the game’s official site.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.

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