Creaks leans into my imagination from when I was a child. Looking for hidden doors, imagining fantastic worlds and creatures both nightmarish and benign. It reminds me of a mixture of Coraline and Dark Crystal mixed into one. You play the role of a young man who is seemingly a student studying whose peace is disturbed by shaking, lights going out and the wallpaper in their dilapidated bedsit falling down revealing a small sealed door hidden behind. The door leads to a vast underground cavern with a giant residential structure that feels like it was designed by M.C Escher.
The game itself is a puzzle title as you explore this large structure meeting the remnants of the occupants and the cause disturbing your dwelling above. It's essentially a series of puzzle rooms split by elevators and hallways. I've seen it described as a platformer equally and it really isn't, the jumps are essentially automated as part of solving the puzzle design. The puzzles themselves are simple but in a way that make you think without getting to frustrated which I appreciated. They are mostly logic puzzles with robot dogs, shadow creatures, switches, lights and levers. I found I could figure most of them out in a reasonable time frame though a few really did stump me despite their simplicity. The issue I had though was they just get a bit old as though there is occasionally a new enemy variety to mix things up nothing really evolves for the playtime and in some ways this game feels really long though it all comes together pretty nicely in the finale.
Creaks biggest strength for me is it's art style. It has a gorgeous hand drawn 2D style that almost feels like a children's book in some ways. It comes across as a little whimsical, I really liked it. There is a large amount of detail in the backgrounds as you explore, tiles, statues, plants and the fantastic interactive paintings you can find on the walls all make Creaks a visually charming experience. It also has a stellar soundtrack by Hidden Orchestra.
This isn't the usual game I buy. I'm not a big puzzle game fan but the positive critic reviews and art piqued my curiosity similar to the previous game of this studio I played, Machinarium. I'm not here for the puzzle gameplay, not really. I'm here for the atmosphere and in that, the developer Amanita Design nailed it.
The game itself is a puzzle title as you explore this large structure meeting the remnants of the occupants and the cause disturbing your dwelling above. It's essentially a series of puzzle rooms split by elevators and hallways. I've seen it described as a platformer equally and it really isn't, the jumps are essentially automated as part of solving the puzzle design. The puzzles themselves are simple but in a way that make you think without getting to frustrated which I appreciated. They are mostly logic puzzles with robot dogs, shadow creatures, switches, lights and levers. I found I could figure most of them out in a reasonable time frame though a few really did stump me despite their simplicity. The issue I had though was they just get a bit old as though there is occasionally a new enemy variety to mix things up nothing really evolves for the playtime and in some ways this game feels really long though it all comes together pretty nicely in the finale.
Creaks biggest strength for me is it's art style. It has a gorgeous hand drawn 2D style that almost feels like a children's book in some ways. It comes across as a little whimsical, I really liked it. There is a large amount of detail in the backgrounds as you explore, tiles, statues, plants and the fantastic interactive paintings you can find on the walls all make Creaks a visually charming experience. It also has a stellar soundtrack by Hidden Orchestra.
This isn't the usual game I buy. I'm not a big puzzle game fan but the positive critic reviews and art piqued my curiosity similar to the previous game of this studio I played, Machinarium. I'm not here for the puzzle gameplay, not really. I'm here for the atmosphere and in that, the developer Amanita Design nailed it.
Reviewed on Feb 08, 2023