Weird Contraption By Aaqib - Independent Review

Review by spinachie on Wednesday, June 22nd 2016

Most games made nowadays lack the multi-million dollar budgets of the AAA industry, meaning that the independent scene has had to adapt in order to compete in other aspects. This has resulted in a rise of the number of �quirky games� as developers bid to charm the money out of your pockets (typically with goat mothers and skeleton brothers). Though usually lacking in breadth, these titles provide a depth of experience that a hundred-person strong project couldn�t possibly have. Aaqib�s Weird Contraption is one such game blessed with this quirk factor, being about as quirky as they come.

The idea behind Weird Contraption is as simple as it is odd; you must explore the young Albert Einstein�s mind and solve the puzzles within. This concept is interesting for a number of reasons, the most important of which is how its uniqueness allowed Aaqib to base some interesting design choices around it. By far the most noticeable of these is the way in which the story is given through fragmented thoughts as opposed to your run-of-the-mill exposition. This makes for a nice change and contributes to Weird Contraption�s deeper themes better than other, more standard methods of narrative delivery. The well-chosen background track and wonderfully unique puzzles also do a great job of bringing the concept to life, combining to create a thoroughly enjoyable and challenging experience.

It�s apparent that Aaqib clearly understood the theme that they were working with, and nowhere is this more clearly conveyed than through the level design. It�s in equal parts attractive and practical, being just as zany as the rest of the game while maintaining balance and harmony. More importantly though, it doesn�t interfere with the gameplay; the item placement is great and most of the important game elements are easily accessible, making puzzles more fun than tedious. On top of this, the level�s length is perfect considering the difficulty, being brief enough as to not be annoying but long enough to be challenging. Overall, the game is well designed both visually and mechanically, adhering closely to its central concept.

However, the level�s design does have a few major flaws, the most prominent of which is the low lighting level. In other games this isn�t usually a problem, but in Weird Contraption it occasionally obscures important gameplay elements, making progression woefully unclear. This is especially crippling at a point early in the game, where the way past a particularly dangerous trap is impossible to find without death or dumb luck. This isn�t helped by the fact that the switch (which itself is never visible) required to bypass the trap only triggers by chance. The result is a puzzle that is infuriatingly unreliable, driving less persistent players away and unfairly skewing the game�s difficulty curve.

The layout also poses a few other minor issues, including an annoying habit of obscuring lethal traps from the player�s vision. This however is a minor complaint compared to how tightly-packed the game�s areas are, which reveals certain narrative elements before their time and occasionally confuses the player even more than the poor lighting. This closeness also reduces the amount of thinking time the player has between sections, causing them to be launched too soon into challenges they haven�t been able to prepare for. These flaws cloud a player�s experience of Weird Contraption, which is otherwise a very solid and enjoyable game.

The Verdict:

Weird Contraption is a uniquely quirky game that is unfortunately held back by some of its more glaring flaws.