I remember watching SSoHPKC play this one, of all people...
wonder how he's doing
wonder how he's doing
So, I decided to finally beat this little indie game after yearssssss of not picking it back up. I played it for a stream and I enjoyed it a lot then. I think I got just wrapped up in other games and just kinda abandoned it for a bit.
But the concept of this game is very neat and the story is nice too. The visuals and music are also very nice. However, and I'm not sure if I picked this up when I first played it... the platforming is a but... wonky at times?
Especially at the ending puzzle... with the bars? And that rotating one? It's... not very clear or it begs for you to be precise and the mechanics just aren't tight? So, it got a bit annoying.
But either way, the story was lovely. I remembered it as I played along... I actually left the game off being in the last act... so, it didn't take long to knock this one off of the backlog.
It's cute game. Just wished the controls were a little tighter for some of the puzzles in the game.
But the concept of this game is very neat and the story is nice too. The visuals and music are also very nice. However, and I'm not sure if I picked this up when I first played it... the platforming is a but... wonky at times?
Especially at the ending puzzle... with the bars? And that rotating one? It's... not very clear or it begs for you to be precise and the mechanics just aren't tight? So, it got a bit annoying.
But either way, the story was lovely. I remembered it as I played along... I actually left the game off being in the last act... so, it didn't take long to knock this one off of the backlog.
It's cute game. Just wished the controls were a little tighter for some of the puzzles in the game.
What a lovely game
Su ambientación está bastante bien, el resto todo mal. La historia mala, los personajes malos, diálogos pésimos, el control muy impreciso para ser un plataformas con buenas ideas (como mezclar secciones 2D y 3D), puzles maluchos. La verdad es que flojísimo.
Potencial disperdiçado, o começo é muito bom com uma proposta interessante, lá pelo capítulo 2 fica paia. A história é fraquíssima e os controles são imprecisos, ambientação daora. Ressalva para parte do Farol, que eu achei muito divertido e com um ótimo level design
Maravilhoso, ótima trilha sonora e direção de arte impecável. O jogo não é tão longo e nem tão curto, tem uma duração boa e pode ser finalizado em uma tarde tranquilamente. Os puzzles são em simples mas divertidos de resolver e a história não é nada incrível, mas legal de se acompanhar.
it was fun but seemed like it couldve been a lot cooler if they actually put more effort into the mechanics and story
Ends immediately as I'm hoping we'll get to the real meat.
its ok no one would care if it wasnt free with ps plus i don't think
I remember this being one of the first free PS+ games I got on my PS4. This might also be the sole reason why I completed it. It felt clunky. I had fun on the way, though.
100% em 31/12/2014
Contrast is a gorgeous looking, underrated puzzle game which I think deserves more light. In this review I will try convincing you to give this game a shot.
1. Storyline & Characters:
The game gives you a feeling like 1920 noir films which are so awesome. The main character is named Dawn, which is drawn with awesome art style. She looks like an acrobat with make-up which I really loved. The story follows a young child named Didi, who lives with her mother and really misses her father (Guillaume Provost, the director of this game was a single father, so this kind of inspired the story in the game). Her parents have some problems and the whole story revolves around this family. Didi needs Dawn to help her find her father. The game implies that Dawn is a figment of Didi’s imagination and only she can interact with Dawn. Be sure to collect all collectables because they add more details to the main story and for Dawn’s character (1 collectable is very important in particular).
2. The world of contrast:
I was browsing the collector’s edition art book and found a passage which perfectly described the world in a way which I never could, so I decided to share the quote with you. I usually neglect the art books in most games, but for this game I decided to take a look.
“Contrast didn’t begin as a film noir story – the prototype was an alternate reality game, and shadow manipulation was just one of many abilities. The world was an abstract virtual reality; a dreamscape; a reality falling apart, fading memories that you had to recover. As the film noir story took hold, we blended our dreamscape with a vaudevillian 1920s/30s Europe, to create a unique world to tell our story. This is Didi’s world, a depiction of what she understands the world to be. The world of Contrast, the environment in which Dawn and Didi interact, is a take on that special world that a child naturally inhabits; a world that adults can see through the wonder in a child’s eyes. A world that we remember with fondness. It is a land of fragmented reality, isolated beauty, and imagination that is uniquely Didi’s and Dawn’s.”
3. Gameplay & Graphics:
If you have already seen any gameplay videos or screenshots you will see that this game has a pretty neat mechanic which really stands out. There are many areas where you can turn into and play as a shadow in the wall to solve puzzles. This key mechanic is required to reach some places. [url=http://i.imgur.com/GGvxKBA.jpg]Shadow Mechanic[/url]Now this is great, but the game is quite broken in its implementation. You have a button for entering and exiting this shadow mode the game has its own mind and will randomly decide to exit the shadow mode. This is extremely frustrating, because you need to redo the whole puzzle section again. Graphics are pretty decent for a game which is quite old. In the beginning of most games there is an “Adjust the gamma settings” option and I usually just keep the default settings, but oh god I could barely see anything with the default setting. Due to not being able to see much in the game my playtime was extended.
4. Music:
The first time you open the game you will be welcomed by a sweet song, which is beautifully relaxing and right on spot, and set up a good mood for playing this game. Another game with such an opening is L.A. Noire, which is very dear to my heart.
The story about Contrast’s own original score is quite interesting in my opinion. They used local Montreal voice actors and jazz musicians. The lovely voice from the main theme song is of Laura Ellis. Initially the studio asked if they can use one of her own songs for Contrast’s first trailer, and due to the trailer’s huge success they asked her to perform for the rest of the game.
[url=http://i.imgur.com/hxt4LpG.jpg]Laura Ellis[/url]
5. Puzzles:
Puzzles are very easy and the whole point in solving them is to play with light and shadows. Most of the puzzles are timed ones but the timer didn’t raise the difficulty at all.
6. Collectables:
The collectables are very easy to locate. Since they shine and glow, they are not very tricky to spot. Most of them are letters, pictures, newspapers and posters. The total amount of collectables is 26. There are things called luminaries which are located throughout the game(most of which on the streets) and do not count towards any achievements. They are rarely required to progress, and some are quite tricky to collect since the game is very broken at times.
7. Achievements:
Contrast offers very easy achievements, which can all be done in a single playthrough. While most of them are story related, 2 will offer some difficulty since they must be done without falling (dying). Again luminaries DO NOT count towards any achievements. The total amount of achievements is 22.
8. Final verdict & overall feeling:
Well I felt it was very light hearted for me which is great. I didn’t want to get involved with a game which requires a lot of time and effort to complete and in this aspect Contrast was perfect. I really love games that question the theory of multi universe and alternative dimensions and I really like that Contrast is hinting a little towards that area. It made me rage a couple of times, because the game is very broken but at the end of the day I was pleased with it. The game can be finished in one sitting. On scale from 0 to 10 I will give Contrast 7/10.
[url=http://i.imgur.com/O2U0nVI.jpg]Fin of this review :)[/url]
1. Storyline & Characters:
The game gives you a feeling like 1920 noir films which are so awesome. The main character is named Dawn, which is drawn with awesome art style. She looks like an acrobat with make-up which I really loved. The story follows a young child named Didi, who lives with her mother and really misses her father (Guillaume Provost, the director of this game was a single father, so this kind of inspired the story in the game). Her parents have some problems and the whole story revolves around this family. Didi needs Dawn to help her find her father. The game implies that Dawn is a figment of Didi’s imagination and only she can interact with Dawn. Be sure to collect all collectables because they add more details to the main story and for Dawn’s character (1 collectable is very important in particular).
2. The world of contrast:
I was browsing the collector’s edition art book and found a passage which perfectly described the world in a way which I never could, so I decided to share the quote with you. I usually neglect the art books in most games, but for this game I decided to take a look.
“Contrast didn’t begin as a film noir story – the prototype was an alternate reality game, and shadow manipulation was just one of many abilities. The world was an abstract virtual reality; a dreamscape; a reality falling apart, fading memories that you had to recover. As the film noir story took hold, we blended our dreamscape with a vaudevillian 1920s/30s Europe, to create a unique world to tell our story. This is Didi’s world, a depiction of what she understands the world to be. The world of Contrast, the environment in which Dawn and Didi interact, is a take on that special world that a child naturally inhabits; a world that adults can see through the wonder in a child’s eyes. A world that we remember with fondness. It is a land of fragmented reality, isolated beauty, and imagination that is uniquely Didi’s and Dawn’s.”
3. Gameplay & Graphics:
If you have already seen any gameplay videos or screenshots you will see that this game has a pretty neat mechanic which really stands out. There are many areas where you can turn into and play as a shadow in the wall to solve puzzles. This key mechanic is required to reach some places. [url=http://i.imgur.com/GGvxKBA.jpg]Shadow Mechanic[/url]Now this is great, but the game is quite broken in its implementation. You have a button for entering and exiting this shadow mode the game has its own mind and will randomly decide to exit the shadow mode. This is extremely frustrating, because you need to redo the whole puzzle section again. Graphics are pretty decent for a game which is quite old. In the beginning of most games there is an “Adjust the gamma settings” option and I usually just keep the default settings, but oh god I could barely see anything with the default setting. Due to not being able to see much in the game my playtime was extended.
4. Music:
The first time you open the game you will be welcomed by a sweet song, which is beautifully relaxing and right on spot, and set up a good mood for playing this game. Another game with such an opening is L.A. Noire, which is very dear to my heart.
The story about Contrast’s own original score is quite interesting in my opinion. They used local Montreal voice actors and jazz musicians. The lovely voice from the main theme song is of Laura Ellis. Initially the studio asked if they can use one of her own songs for Contrast’s first trailer, and due to the trailer’s huge success they asked her to perform for the rest of the game.
[url=http://i.imgur.com/hxt4LpG.jpg]Laura Ellis[/url]
5. Puzzles:
Puzzles are very easy and the whole point in solving them is to play with light and shadows. Most of the puzzles are timed ones but the timer didn’t raise the difficulty at all.
6. Collectables:
The collectables are very easy to locate. Since they shine and glow, they are not very tricky to spot. Most of them are letters, pictures, newspapers and posters. The total amount of collectables is 26. There are things called luminaries which are located throughout the game(most of which on the streets) and do not count towards any achievements. They are rarely required to progress, and some are quite tricky to collect since the game is very broken at times.
7. Achievements:
Contrast offers very easy achievements, which can all be done in a single playthrough. While most of them are story related, 2 will offer some difficulty since they must be done without falling (dying). Again luminaries DO NOT count towards any achievements. The total amount of achievements is 22.
8. Final verdict & overall feeling:
Well I felt it was very light hearted for me which is great. I didn’t want to get involved with a game which requires a lot of time and effort to complete and in this aspect Contrast was perfect. I really love games that question the theory of multi universe and alternative dimensions and I really like that Contrast is hinting a little towards that area. It made me rage a couple of times, because the game is very broken but at the end of the day I was pleased with it. The game can be finished in one sitting. On scale from 0 to 10 I will give Contrast 7/10.
[url=http://i.imgur.com/O2U0nVI.jpg]Fin of this review :)[/url]
Nice idea but too underutilised.
This game was super unique. I still listen to the soundtrack after all this time
Defenitiv kein Puzzlegame.. Walkingsimulator trifft es eher.
It's not great but it has cool ideas and Adam Jensen is your dad.
There's a sweet story buried in here somewhere. I like that it's fairly sincere.
The idea of using shadows as puzzles is fascinating and Contrast has one of the most unique puzzle elements I have seen since Portal. Arranging objects in a room to make the shadows layout just right to get to where you need can be very satisfying. Bringing objects into the shadow world and pulling them out is also very fun. The story as well is kind of touching. You play as Dawn who has a mysterious childhood friend, Didi, whose parents are going through hard times and she wants to bring them back together. Her father is always getting into debt trouble and decides to open a circus using a magician. Everything goes wrong for her father so it’s up to her and Dawn to fix it all.
The story itself is pretty interesting but the ending sucks. It honestly just ends and you never find out what this mysterious shadow world is. She and Dawn are the only people who are in the real world. Her parents talk to her on the walls as shadows. It makes me wonder if Didi has mental issues and is imagining all this? Is Dawn a figment of her imagination? No one else can see her but it’s never explained. These mysteries can be frustrating at the end when they never make sense.
The game actually is poorly paced. There’s a lot of little cutscenes that break everything up and it gets really annoying. You will walk ten feet, cutscene, walk ten more feet, scene, pull a switch, scene, solve an easy puzzle, scene, and it continues like this. The puzzles are extremely easy and a few were head scratchers for a few minutes towards the end but nothing I couldn’t solve after a little thinking. The game is very linear and you only explore a few areas, but explore is the wrong word to use here. The only thing you can do that’s extra is to find collectibles and find luminaries to be able to start certain puzzles. That is literally all there is to this game.
The game itself can be beaten in about 4 hours. The graphics are really nice, however, they are a little dated and there are numerous bugs and glitches. The game would crash, Dawn would get stuck in a T pose during certain jumps, crates would get stuck due to weird physics issues and they all required restarts. That’s unacceptable and hopefully will be patched. I honestly can’t recommend this game for the asking price, but maybe for a sale, it would be worth it. The game isn’t bad, it just seriously lacks content and depth and has a disappointing ending. The shadow puzzles are very inventive and fun to do, but there just needs to be more.
The story itself is pretty interesting but the ending sucks. It honestly just ends and you never find out what this mysterious shadow world is. She and Dawn are the only people who are in the real world. Her parents talk to her on the walls as shadows. It makes me wonder if Didi has mental issues and is imagining all this? Is Dawn a figment of her imagination? No one else can see her but it’s never explained. These mysteries can be frustrating at the end when they never make sense.
The game actually is poorly paced. There’s a lot of little cutscenes that break everything up and it gets really annoying. You will walk ten feet, cutscene, walk ten more feet, scene, pull a switch, scene, solve an easy puzzle, scene, and it continues like this. The puzzles are extremely easy and a few were head scratchers for a few minutes towards the end but nothing I couldn’t solve after a little thinking. The game is very linear and you only explore a few areas, but explore is the wrong word to use here. The only thing you can do that’s extra is to find collectibles and find luminaries to be able to start certain puzzles. That is literally all there is to this game.
The game itself can be beaten in about 4 hours. The graphics are really nice, however, they are a little dated and there are numerous bugs and glitches. The game would crash, Dawn would get stuck in a T pose during certain jumps, crates would get stuck due to weird physics issues and they all required restarts. That’s unacceptable and hopefully will be patched. I honestly can’t recommend this game for the asking price, but maybe for a sale, it would be worth it. The game isn’t bad, it just seriously lacks content and depth and has a disappointing ending. The shadow puzzles are very inventive and fun to do, but there just needs to be more.
Had a lot of potential so It's bit of a shame It's so short. Puzzles were fun but never that difficult and the story was pretty thin.
A couple of hours and you're done. Easy achievement points though.
A couple of hours and you're done. Easy achievement points though.
I remember voting Contrast for a Steam release when Steam Greenlight first unveiled and it showed so much promise, but despite its jazzy aesthetic, the final product is very meagre and lacks a lot of the energy and excitement it would benefit from.
A game with a lot of potential that I feel is slightly wasted on a product not worthy of that potential. The aesthetics, atmosphere, music, and gameplay concepts are great, but the game struggles with actual mechanics and the story and vibe feels inconsistent. Still really enjoyed the trip through this world, but I know that there could've been a stronger game made within this framework.
Muita proposta boa, pouco gameplay memorável.
I tried this through Game Pass and damn near immediately forgot about it. I think I remember it being a generic 3D puzzle-platformer that happened to have a cool aesthetic. That's about it.
simplesmente foda, só tem alguns bugs mas para a epoca q lançou ainda acho uma pena q n investiram numa sequência
Contrast me entraba mucho por los ojos por su estética, el cabaret y el rollo 2D-3D peeeeeero ñeeee.
Al principio piensas que Dawn es una amiga imaginaria de Didi, pero al final a través de coleccionables ves que las cosas van por otro lado pero no terminan de rematar 🤔
Al principio piensas que Dawn es una amiga imaginaria de Didi, pero al final a través de coleccionables ves que las cosas van por otro lado pero no terminan de rematar 🤔
Cool as heck with the shadow platforming, but less cool is buggyness inherent to said shadow platforming.
Jogo curto com mecânicas simples porém com visuais e cenários incríveis.
srednia gierka jak na obecny czas, fajna zabawa cieniem ale to tyle. osiagniecia raczej git ale troche niemilych bylo
gameplay é muito legal, a história é meio fraquinha, mas é bem fofa
Contrast is a film noir-style puzzle/platform game, using shadows as its main mechanic, telling a story of a little girl stuck between her dad trying to win his family back and her mom focusing on her musical career as a singer in what seems to be a New Orleans kind of town.
The gameplay is mainly easy to figure out puzzles and tight platforming, which is best played with a gamepad. Some platforming can be a bit finicky at times, due to the shadow mechanic. Various platforming puzzles might take a few tries because of that, but nothing that I found too irritating. The soundtrack is top notch and so is the art style of the game.
I don't want to go too deep into the story, as discussing it would be spoiler-y. But the world building is interesting and there are various collectibles and cut scenes that'll tell you more about what is going on.
I definitely recommend this game! I'm also excited about the developer's upcoming game that is in the works at Microsoft.
The gameplay is mainly easy to figure out puzzles and tight platforming, which is best played with a gamepad. Some platforming can be a bit finicky at times, due to the shadow mechanic. Various platforming puzzles might take a few tries because of that, but nothing that I found too irritating. The soundtrack is top notch and so is the art style of the game.
I don't want to go too deep into the story, as discussing it would be spoiler-y. But the world building is interesting and there are various collectibles and cut scenes that'll tell you more about what is going on.
I definitely recommend this game! I'm also excited about the developer's upcoming game that is in the works at Microsoft.