For my abridged thoughts from when I first completed Teslagrad, please see: https://backloggd.com/u/RedBackLoggd/review/1060056/
Six years since beating it, Teslagrad remains one of the most unique platformers I’ve ever experienced in gaming. As such, I figured it deserved a proper review to better articulate its strengths and weaknesses for modern audiences.
We’ll start with the gameplay as, like most members of the genre, Teslagrad rests its laurels on a gimmick, the main course here being electric charges. Through progressively-acquired gear, your unnamed protagonist develops methods of circumventing the world around him via positive/negative forces, these facets beginning with a pair of power gloves and ending with a freakin ray gun. You’ll need all of them to circumvent the Metroidvania-esque world your boy has found himself in, its rooms chock-full of increasingly complex puzzles that showcase some genuine creativity.
Rest assured, you won’t be thrown in the deep end as one of Teslagrad’s greatest feats is its genius tutorial structure: taking a page out of World 1-1, you aren’t provided any explanatory text boxes but instead basic gameplay to adhere to -- follow them, and you’ll successfully glean how to overcome whatever new contraption Rain Games has concocted: fail, on the other hand, and you’ll suffer a quick death. It’s a simple formula that works with these simpler games because it’s nothing more than barebones trial & error -- that Teslagrad turns it into a group of fun levels is a testament to the developers’ intellect.
Unfortunately, where they massively dropped the ball was in the boss fights, which are rendered difficult in the laziest way possible: one-hit KOs. That’s right, your boy cannot be touched at all lest he crumble instantaneously, and while this was a common feature amongst classic platformers like DKC and Mario, there’s a reason companies largely abandoned the format in succeeding generations - it’s more frustrating than fun. On the outset, Teslagrad’s bosses are relatively fine, occupying the “One Trick Pony who gets incrementally faster the more you damage them” schtick; however, in leaving the player no room for error, they quickly turn into grueling exercises that drain any enjoyment garnered from the surrounding levels (the final fight, in particular, being the stuff of nightmares).
Graphically, Teslagrad is often associated with the steampunk genre, but upon replaying it I don’t think I’d actually call it that - yes, a number of the objects you come across are effaced with gears and springs and copper beams, but, as the name more than implies, the mechanics here are primarily built around magnetism and galvanics, not steam-power. No, instead I’d label it something like Gothic Revivalism with a layer of, well, shall we say Teslapunk? That is to say you’ve got a medieval-esque setting wrapped-in voltaic technology inspired by the famed inventor.
In my original write-up, I compared the visuals to early-Newgrounds projects that ran off Flash, and while the example was, in retrospect, silly, what I was trying to convey was the dynamic flow I saw in the animations. Rethinking it, a better analogy would definitely be to those old Disney platformers released on the SNES back in the day -- games that beautifully recreated the 25 images/second format pioneered by the 2D Renaissance era both within and outside the eponymous company. What I mean is there’s a noticeable flow to both the facial & body animations that lavish transitions with an eerie-naturality: whether it’s pushing against a wall, looking-up, falling down, climbing rungs, or utilizing an item, the way your Boy moves absolutely brings to mind the best of Don Bluth or Glen Keane. It’s the kind of production value that unfortunately goes undervalued by general gamers because it’s not as visceral as AAA graphics or fancy art assets, yet deserves as much acclaim all the same.
Sound is interesting in that Teslagrad is the first game I played to divvy-up its SFX into two different spheres, ambient noises & general dins, a feature I really enjoyed as, too often, many games mix aspects like shooting & monster growls to a significantly-higher decibel than their accompanying echoes, occlusions, and distant atmospheres. Because of this, I was able to set-up my game so that certain aural treats like the humming of machinery, crackling of electricity, and buzzing of magnets were highlighted throughout my playthrough, which contributed to the dour atmosphere imagined by Rain Games. Sadly, though, they’re partially offset by muted footsteps, quiet jumps, as well as a strange crunching noise the developers coded for vine grasping.
That said, even those cons are miles above the score by Bear & Cat Production, who not only failed at crafting an OST in-line with the setting, but implemented tunes outright at odds with the respective story beat. The opening scene, for example, involves the Boy escaping from goons trying to murder him, yet listening to the plucky strings and elongated violin bows, you’d think you were going trick-or-treating on a warm summer night; one of the later boss fights entails a foe launching surges of electricity at you, yet the blurty tuba notes bring to mind sneaking around a shaky abode.
Not everything is bad of course- there are a number of quieter tracks that mesh well with the ambience, as well as some decent vocal accompaniments every-now-and-then; but overall, it’s a score you ain’t going to remember for the right reasons: it’s not steampunk, it’s not Gothic, it’s not Dark Age, it’s….a homage to something I don’t quite know.
Storywise, Teslagrad’s often been compared to Limbo in view of their shared silent lads and moody visuals; however, I’ve always felt that was a bit of a misnomer due to Teslagrad actually telling a direct tale. During certain sections of the game, you’re made to watch a puppet show off in the background, which, while lacking dialogue, conveys its narrative well enough regarding a mad King and his launch of a demented pogrom. It’s pretty interesting stuff, and certainly lends your quest more weight, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a little too standard good vs. evil.
I mentioned earlier that Teslagrad has a Metroidvania-type world, and that primarily entails the ability to revisit previous areas with new tools for puzzle circumvention. It’s all-well-and-good, but the problem is the game unfortunately takes a page out of the first Metroid ala not having a map system, meaning you’ll potentially be wasting a lot of time running around trying to find the one place you forgot to search. Not that I’d recommend doing so anyway as the only reward awaiting such exploratory initiatives are illuminated manuscripts that, while beautiful, don’t hold much intrinsic value.
In the end, Teslagrad’s pros definitely outweigh its cons. If you can get past the short, yet frustrating, boss fights, and focus exclusively on advancing the story, you’ll find yourself enjoying a nice indie gem boasting one of the most unique premises in recent years.
NOTES
-Plantlife is a core part of the setting, though I’d be hardpressed to tell you where it came from or what the purpose of it was beyond adding environmental diversity (not a critique, just an observation).
-On that note, I hated that you couldn’t vertically leap while climbing vines - made certain ascensions unnecessarily long.
-Backdrops are really well done, always accentuating the foreground through subtle motions, gorgeous building material, or some looming simulacra.
Six years since beating it, Teslagrad remains one of the most unique platformers I’ve ever experienced in gaming. As such, I figured it deserved a proper review to better articulate its strengths and weaknesses for modern audiences.
We’ll start with the gameplay as, like most members of the genre, Teslagrad rests its laurels on a gimmick, the main course here being electric charges. Through progressively-acquired gear, your unnamed protagonist develops methods of circumventing the world around him via positive/negative forces, these facets beginning with a pair of power gloves and ending with a freakin ray gun. You’ll need all of them to circumvent the Metroidvania-esque world your boy has found himself in, its rooms chock-full of increasingly complex puzzles that showcase some genuine creativity.
Rest assured, you won’t be thrown in the deep end as one of Teslagrad’s greatest feats is its genius tutorial structure: taking a page out of World 1-1, you aren’t provided any explanatory text boxes but instead basic gameplay to adhere to -- follow them, and you’ll successfully glean how to overcome whatever new contraption Rain Games has concocted: fail, on the other hand, and you’ll suffer a quick death. It’s a simple formula that works with these simpler games because it’s nothing more than barebones trial & error -- that Teslagrad turns it into a group of fun levels is a testament to the developers’ intellect.
Unfortunately, where they massively dropped the ball was in the boss fights, which are rendered difficult in the laziest way possible: one-hit KOs. That’s right, your boy cannot be touched at all lest he crumble instantaneously, and while this was a common feature amongst classic platformers like DKC and Mario, there’s a reason companies largely abandoned the format in succeeding generations - it’s more frustrating than fun. On the outset, Teslagrad’s bosses are relatively fine, occupying the “One Trick Pony who gets incrementally faster the more you damage them” schtick; however, in leaving the player no room for error, they quickly turn into grueling exercises that drain any enjoyment garnered from the surrounding levels (the final fight, in particular, being the stuff of nightmares).
Graphically, Teslagrad is often associated with the steampunk genre, but upon replaying it I don’t think I’d actually call it that - yes, a number of the objects you come across are effaced with gears and springs and copper beams, but, as the name more than implies, the mechanics here are primarily built around magnetism and galvanics, not steam-power. No, instead I’d label it something like Gothic Revivalism with a layer of, well, shall we say Teslapunk? That is to say you’ve got a medieval-esque setting wrapped-in voltaic technology inspired by the famed inventor.
In my original write-up, I compared the visuals to early-Newgrounds projects that ran off Flash, and while the example was, in retrospect, silly, what I was trying to convey was the dynamic flow I saw in the animations. Rethinking it, a better analogy would definitely be to those old Disney platformers released on the SNES back in the day -- games that beautifully recreated the 25 images/second format pioneered by the 2D Renaissance era both within and outside the eponymous company. What I mean is there’s a noticeable flow to both the facial & body animations that lavish transitions with an eerie-naturality: whether it’s pushing against a wall, looking-up, falling down, climbing rungs, or utilizing an item, the way your Boy moves absolutely brings to mind the best of Don Bluth or Glen Keane. It’s the kind of production value that unfortunately goes undervalued by general gamers because it’s not as visceral as AAA graphics or fancy art assets, yet deserves as much acclaim all the same.
Sound is interesting in that Teslagrad is the first game I played to divvy-up its SFX into two different spheres, ambient noises & general dins, a feature I really enjoyed as, too often, many games mix aspects like shooting & monster growls to a significantly-higher decibel than their accompanying echoes, occlusions, and distant atmospheres. Because of this, I was able to set-up my game so that certain aural treats like the humming of machinery, crackling of electricity, and buzzing of magnets were highlighted throughout my playthrough, which contributed to the dour atmosphere imagined by Rain Games. Sadly, though, they’re partially offset by muted footsteps, quiet jumps, as well as a strange crunching noise the developers coded for vine grasping.
That said, even those cons are miles above the score by Bear & Cat Production, who not only failed at crafting an OST in-line with the setting, but implemented tunes outright at odds with the respective story beat. The opening scene, for example, involves the Boy escaping from goons trying to murder him, yet listening to the plucky strings and elongated violin bows, you’d think you were going trick-or-treating on a warm summer night; one of the later boss fights entails a foe launching surges of electricity at you, yet the blurty tuba notes bring to mind sneaking around a shaky abode.
Not everything is bad of course- there are a number of quieter tracks that mesh well with the ambience, as well as some decent vocal accompaniments every-now-and-then; but overall, it’s a score you ain’t going to remember for the right reasons: it’s not steampunk, it’s not Gothic, it’s not Dark Age, it’s….a homage to something I don’t quite know.
Storywise, Teslagrad’s often been compared to Limbo in view of their shared silent lads and moody visuals; however, I’ve always felt that was a bit of a misnomer due to Teslagrad actually telling a direct tale. During certain sections of the game, you’re made to watch a puppet show off in the background, which, while lacking dialogue, conveys its narrative well enough regarding a mad King and his launch of a demented pogrom. It’s pretty interesting stuff, and certainly lends your quest more weight, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a little too standard good vs. evil.
I mentioned earlier that Teslagrad has a Metroidvania-type world, and that primarily entails the ability to revisit previous areas with new tools for puzzle circumvention. It’s all-well-and-good, but the problem is the game unfortunately takes a page out of the first Metroid ala not having a map system, meaning you’ll potentially be wasting a lot of time running around trying to find the one place you forgot to search. Not that I’d recommend doing so anyway as the only reward awaiting such exploratory initiatives are illuminated manuscripts that, while beautiful, don’t hold much intrinsic value.
In the end, Teslagrad’s pros definitely outweigh its cons. If you can get past the short, yet frustrating, boss fights, and focus exclusively on advancing the story, you’ll find yourself enjoying a nice indie gem boasting one of the most unique premises in recent years.
NOTES
-Plantlife is a core part of the setting, though I’d be hardpressed to tell you where it came from or what the purpose of it was beyond adding environmental diversity (not a critique, just an observation).
-On that note, I hated that you couldn’t vertically leap while climbing vines - made certain ascensions unnecessarily long.
-Backdrops are really well done, always accentuating the foreground through subtle motions, gorgeous building material, or some looming simulacra.