Summary [9 out of 10]

Magrunner is an FPS puzzle solving game with a unique story for the genre, borrowing from H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Cycle, there is a sinister nature in this futuristic backdrop that hearkens back to Innsmouth and the 1920s. If you’ll recall we got to check this game out at E3.

What It’s Like:

Portal, Portal 2 and with dash of Antechamber. It probably shares the most in common with Portal 2 in as much as the drastic change in sterile test environments to a descent into the dark and dirty past, but also a touch of Antechamber as you try to puzzle out exactly what is the deal with that the feeling of dread in the back of your mind. You know deep down at the brain stem, in the reptile level it kind of tickled the same part of the brain that Hellraiser did when I was young.

 

The Great

Environment: The no nonsense and scientifically magnificent testing environments of this game eventually give way to R’lyehian atmosphere manifested on Earth. This degenerate quickly and this is reflect in the level and sound design, you have just enough time to master some basic game tools before you are abruptly thrust into the true horrific nature of this world. By the time you get to Act III you are in a completely alien environment with a foreboding presence watching over you, Great Cthulhu watches over you as you attempt to solve puzzles.

Game Mechanics: Fans of Portal are going to really enjoy this game. Sadly you will not find yourself hopping through portals but this time instead employing the use of magnets and their attraction or repulsion to solve the puzzles and complete your objectives.

At first  it took me a bit to warm up to the magnet concept, but now I feel like it might even be an improvement over the portal system.

Just don’t tell ICP about the magnet part it might confuse them a bit.

The Good

Story: Divided into 3 acts the story unfolds in a narrative that keeps you moving forward but does not quite get deep enough to make the story truly memorable. He have some decent back story on the main character, Dax, who was raised by Gamaji a man of many talents and arms. Seriously, dude has 6 arms he can drink a cup of coffee and still have 3 more arms then you to hack into systems. Gamaji, despite his low standing socially as a mutant, raised Dax after Dax’s parents mysterious disappeared. There is a bit more to that but I won’t spoil it for you, better to have the story unraveling as you solve puzzles so it can mess with your head.

The Bad

Graphics: Really just a minor ding, I noticed a tiny bit of glitching in areas outside of the interactive parts that would fill with bright colors and considering the 360 is nearing the end of it’s life-cycle I figured they would be able to get a little bit better out of the system. The holograms that come through on the game do look decent and add a nice level of interaction.

Conclusion [9 out of 10]

A great marketplace game, for your buck you can an awesome bang in terms of gameplay and a story that keeps you guessing as to how everything is going to play out.