 
Games
|
|
 |
Contre Jour for iPhonePosted in Adventure on 24 Aug 2011 |
 Written by Nelson Kyle |
   (19 votes, average: 3.63 out of 5)  Loading ... |
Contre Jour is a new release from Chillingo, a developer already connected with great games that sometimes verge on the strange. Contre Jour does more than verge on strange, it fully crosses that line into a weird and wonderfully artistic universe unlike any you’ve played before.
The main character, Petit, requires your help to get through each level; this help will come in the form of guiding Petit’s through lovely surroundings in order to speed him on his way to each level’s exit. The landscape presents one part of Contre Jour’s puzzling nature. Aside from the physical puzzles of the game, Contre Jour gives off a mysterious air of its own which is its own puzzle. Black and grey landscapes, animated with a flowing backdrop for little Petit’s amazing travels.
Contrast is provided by the softly lit, glowing orbs which Petit collects along the way. And the environment itself, while always portraying the same dreamlike style, offers up some intriguing variety; blue tinted environments with slightly altered physics create an underwater world with ambient lighting, while Petit navigates in the open air, far above the ground from time to time.
To help little Petit, who certainly needs it, since he can apparently only engage in a nearly helpless rolling motion, players must solve the puzzle of navigating each level by creating a Petit-friendly path through its obstacles and pits. The controls to do so make simple use of the touch screen, leaving players to expend their energy not on complex maneuvers but on mental aerobics.
Contre Jour tries hard to be magical, and it succeeds beautifully in an enchantingly minimalist manner. Rather than basing its surreal appeal on acid-drenched coloring, Contre Jour seems to be all about subtlety. Finesse is the name of the game here. Contre Jour is so good at creating its delicate, twilight world that the strangeness seems to disappear; what began as very odd seems normal and beautiful once players are engaged in the game. The one criticism would be the puzzles themselves—there aren’t enough of them, and because of how few there are, even at the end they don’t provide really significant challenge. Contre Jour could easily offer twice as many hours of gameplay without worrying about wearing out its welcome.
The really impressive thing about Contre Jour is how each of its elements work together. The creative design behind the game is top notch, and the animation has a light touch that lets the minimal designs come to life. The professional score that accompanies Petit is perfectly timed to the game’s visuals, right down to the natural rhythm of Contre Jour’s in-game physics engine.
Contre Jour gives users much more than $0.99 worth of enjoyment. While I would beg the developers to expand this game in the future, I’d also expect it to come with a higher price tag at that point. Contre Jour is a doorway into a different world that you don’t’ want to miss out on.
