game’s smaller areas – ones that are
brain-sized, the way a Rubik’s Cube is
perfectly hand-sized – this isn’t too
much of an issue. When the levels are
compact enough to turn over in your
head, you can revel in their Escherian
twists and turns, and even wring out
the odd eureka moment.
However, there are a couple of
larger spaces you’ll likely spend the
best part of an hour poking around,
and here it can all become tedious.
These levels too often break the
cardinal rule of puzzle game level
design: that everything should be
there for a reason, either as part
of the solution or as a red herring.
However there’s no purpose to the
dead ends here, at least on your first
playthrough – they’re just filler.
At these points, the minimalist
visual design – which is gorgeous,
by the way – feels like it’s actually
working against the rest of the game.
Each level has a strong identity, but
individual zones can be indistinct,
which can mean a lot of trekking back
and forth, unsure if you’ve been that
way before or not. In the early levels,
which are stripped right back to their
basic geometry, the visuals can even
undermine the sensation of turning
gravity on its head. These initial
areas don’t feel like real places, so
it can be hard to tell whether you’re
currently upside down, right side up or
somewhere in between.
Etherborn isn’t afraid to let players
get a little lost. Not just in its levels, or
its puzzles, but its story and premise
too. Honestly, it can be nice to play a
game that doesn’t constantly check
in with you – but the way Etherborn
avoids hand-holding, we’re starting to
suspect it might be germophobic.Gravity check
It’s not that the game is overly
difficult, exactly. It can just be a
little hard to tell whether it’s trying
to tie up your brain in Möbius strip,
or just failing to signpost its puzzlescorrectly. Whether you’re bumping
up against an intentional quirk or a
bug. Whether all of its philosophical
proclamations are meaningful or just a
load of hot air.
It’s hard not to admire Etherborn’s
ambition – after all, how many games
have you asking these kinds of
questions in the first place? But the
game’s many ideas never quite mesh
together, and the result is a puzzler
where you often don’t know which
way is up. And we mean that both
figuratively and literally. QSHORT AND
SWEET
Etherborn is a nice,
short package –
expect it to last about
five hours, depending
how long you spend
furrowing your brow
over each puzzle. The
end feels abrupt, but
it does ensure the
gravity-bending never
loses its novelty. If
you want to dip back
in, there’s a New
Game+ mode that
reshuffles the
polyhedral keys. The
game fares a little
better on a second
go-around, with the
vague shape of each
level already stored in
your head.“Each level has
a strong identity,
but individual
zones can be
indistinct”
ABOVE If someone
wanders into the
living room
while you’re
playing
Etherborn,
glances at the
TV and asks,
‘What you’re up
to?’ good luck
to you both.OXM VERDICT
An intriguing
premise with
flawed execution.
But what does it
all mean?5
FAR LEFT The
game has some
moments of
glittering
spectacle, even
if we’re not
quite sure
what they’re
actually about.More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 085