It's been quite a while since I've participated here, and -- to be honest -- quite a while since I've booted up DROD (though that'll likely change once the new Smitemaster's Selection is out), but after playing a game called Beret for the last couple weeks I feel utterly compelled to share it, and I think the DROD community might take to it like no other...
It took a while to sink in, but I believe Beret is tickling my puzzle-bone in a way very similar to how DROD did when I played through KDD years ago.
Like DROD, Beret resembles another genre at first glance -- in this case, a 2-D platformer -- but its surface belies a very deep set of interlocking game mechanics that, ultimately, make the whole experience that of a puzzle game.
I should warn, however, that Beret is not turn-based, and thus -- unlke DROD -- some sections/challenges require reflexes or quick timing.
Mitigating this factor, however, is the fact that pressing the 1 key will save the current state of the game, and pressing the 4 key will instantly restore the game from that precise state.
This means that you can effectively break down a tricky reflexes problem into smaller and smaller chunks.
Ultimately, however, most of the challenge comes from puzzling out how to deal with various game elements, alone or in combination, to navigate to the next screen, and in this sense it reminds me of DROD the most.
Additionally, there are rewards for figuring out how to get rid of all the monsters on each screen before progressing to the next (like clearing a screen in DROD), and for collecting certain trinkets.
The level design I believe is truly brilliant, rarely devolving into pure action. Like with DROD, your character does not gain abilities as the game progresses, but new elements (monsters, block-types, etc.) are consistently introduced, forcing you to reevaluate the small toolset at your disposal. Likewise, the puzzles for the most part get consistently more difficult as the game progresses [note: I believe I'm about 2/3 of the way through the game at this point]. That said, there have been a few instances where returning to an earlier level has led to a very DROD-like Aha! moment in which the solution to a previously unsolved puzzle becomes suddenly clear, perhaps due to having more experience with the game.
I am, of course, being very wordy here, and I hope you take this wordiness as a sign of enthusiasm. [I'll note here that I have no relationship with the game developer; I saw the game mentioned in a tiny blurb on another site a couple weeks ago.]
Oh, a description of the central game mechanic: Like any 2-d platformer, the keyboard is used to move left and right, and to jump in the air. The shift key here toggles between a run and a walk, helpful for jumping larger gaps or for fine-tuning smaller movement. And the key game mechanic: the mouse is used for telekinesis, allowing you to grab blocks or monsters and move them around, assuming they are within a certain range of your character
and assuming you have a clear line of sight between your character and the thing you are grabbing. (This last requirement is key for many of the puzzles).
At the moment, there does not seem to be any community built up around the game.
And I have only seen it mentioned on two websites. I suspect it would be getting more attention were the graphics not so 1990s PC (i.e., clearly programmer-drawn)? Like DROD, a still image of the game does not express its underlying brilliance.
There also is no level editor, though I can't say it hasn't crossed my mind that maybe an outpouring of support from a community like this might compel the developer to create one? [this is pure speculation, of course].
And, oh: after all this, where to find the game:
http://kiwisauce.com/beret/
And I should mention that the developer's claim of "
over 20 hours of gameplay"
is certainly accurate.
Each level provides new and interesting twists, long may that continue.
