OCTAHEDRON
Jump into this precision platformer
An unnamed writer retreats into the isolation of his cabin in the woods. On taking a quiet stroll among the trees, he finds himself disturbed by a neonsoaked spectre. Making no attempts to run, he finds himself overcome by its influence, his head replaced by the titular three-dimensional shape. Talk about having writer’s block!
Transformed, the writer descends into a portal and soon finds himself in a world that has to be seen in motion to be believed. Static images simply do not do it justice. As you move the stage behind you pulsates, spewing glowing shapes behind you.
THROWING SHAPES
As the transfigured protagonist, you begin with the ability to create up to two temporary platforms in mid air, which you can use to leapfrog your way onto something a bit more permanent (and even that’s not a certainty in later levels). Through strategic jumps and platform placements, you can collect shapes equally as abstract as your own noggin and progress to the next level.
Sounds simple? Things starts off uncomplicated enough, with the basics communicated concisely. Be warned, though: the difficulty curve then begins to rise at quite a pace across the sparkly, shapestrewn platforms.
Each level introduces a new obstacle to overcome, and while trial-and-error is a part of that process, playing still manages to feel intuitive. Frustration and failure arise only from your lack of skill. Jumping is as much about sticking the landing as it is getting the timing down when placing your own temporary platforms. It takes genuine skill, but when you get it and it flows, the game does so beautifully.
As you improve and Octahedron gradually gives you a bit more than just two temporary platforms to rub together, the sparks really begin to fly – though without ever getting too hectic to follow. From platforms that obliterate anything immediately below you to enemies that set their sights on you whenever you dare to lay a platform down, there’s a well-paced rate of iteration. This all builds to prolonged moments of flow that make you immediately want to try again when interrupted. A fair checkpointing system (which I can’t help but wish was just a little more generous) aids this, but repeated screw-ups are heavily penalised, even to the point of resetting the entire level. It’s a fine line to walk.
So, you will fail, but failure seldom feels cheap or unfair. Every death I experience is my own darn fault; every misjudged platform placement,
“YES, YOU WILL FAIL, BUT FAILURE SELDOM FEELS CHEAP OR UNFAIR.”
every jump bungled due to imprecise timing, every familiar hazard our octa-hedrical-headed hero falls afoul of due to my complacency, it all comes back to me, not the game’s design.
While I appreciate developer Demimonde’s commitment to the high level of difficulty, and I absolutely don’t doubt that the challenge will be a big draw for a niche audience, despite being fair it also proves a major barrier to my own enjoyment. Indeed, after some time with Octahedron I found myself staring vacantly out of a window somewhere in OPM Towers, in a word: broken. My gaze fell upon a hoarding carrying the slogan “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” Staring at my bleeding thumb, I couldn’t help but feel the universe was laughing at me.
HOLDING THE STAGE
And yet, I keep going back, convinced that this time I’ll make the jump, place the platform precisely, collect the glowing shapes I need. After throwing down my controller in frustration countless times, after storming off for brisk, angry walks around the office enough times that it gets commented on by colleagues, I’ll come right back and try again. I can’t tell you how rewarding conquering something I’d previously dismissed as the unbreakable skill ceiling feels.
After one less-than-quiet celebration, a small voice piped up, “Jess, the billboard was right all along!” Perhaps the universe wasn’t so much laughing at me as offering encouragement. You’ll probably need it.
VERDICT
Something well worth sinking your teeth into – but beware, it has a bite of its own. Sadly, tricky to recommend to anyone not looking to get their teeth knocked out by the difficulty curve. Jess Kinghorn