Game:

Forma.8 (2017)

Category:

Preview

Duration: 12:40

30 views

1

So, let's... just take a moment, like a hot-headed bald guy in a brand new spider tank in an airlock and calm down for a second. Get off the RIVE and let's dive back into forma.8. Feeling better? Good! (And if you're not... ... ...good...!?)

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The first screen of forma.8's demo was pretty basic and instructional without seeming like it was trying too hard. You have basic enemies that will try to touch you to death... and some more advanced enemies that spawn other enemies... and an interesting enemy that can't be approached (interestingly possessing what seemed to be the SAME repulsor shield technology as our little buddy has, thereby forcing us to use our wits and our bombs propelled by our OWN repulsor shield to land a surprisingly anticlimactic hit... the point being, except for the swarms of regular enemies upping the ante as you're forced to take out the thing spawning them (which is hardly trivial, I suppose I should note), it didn't really try very hard to trick or harm you.

Heck, even navigation was pretty straightforward, with several winding paths leading to certain obvious focal points and MAYBE a few things that a total lack of self-preservation instinct would be required to actually pose a threat.

Well, now all that's about to change. It's time to take our basics and actually taste a little danger and focused exploration... er... I mean, just a little bit. Seriously, let's not get carried away!

Immediately, we're introduced to some interactive objects in the terrain, both harmful and not... though thankfully the color coding serves us well in alerting us that SOMETHING might be up with those weird red dots hanging out on the cave walls... WHOA. Wow, that was VERY unfriendly! (It could've been way unfriendlier if I wasn't so emboldened by our earlier successes and progress, allowing me to drift confidently at full speed through its line of attack!)

We've also got gears and ...weird yellow-colored objects that don't seem inherently unfriendly, but we can't really be sure just yet. Oh, they're switches! By manipulating them, we seem able to actuate the inactive machinery in these tunnels to foster some much-needed forward progress.in otherwise dead-ended chambers. (And for good measure and color-coding consistency, the ...I guess kinda neutral yellow hue turns to blue, indicating that we've put things to our own use!)

I'm a little confused by why the HUGE broken gear can be manipulated directly by the touch, whereas these smaller set pieces are all about indirect interactions only. Ah well, it's still neat, I suppose.

While we were given a glimpse of an unfriendly-looking lava pool in the first screen, which was promptly blocked off by debris... that we created by wrecking some stuff, we weren't really tasked with anything that would require we get near it. (To the contrary, I suspect that first pool was only present to give us an "out" in case you foolishly caved the ceiling in on yourself. Hope you like it hot, you silly thoughtless person!)

For simple fear of unknown consequences and the general premise: "LAVA! HOT!" (gee, thanks professor!), I will suggest we NOT recklessly immerse ourselves in the stuff. Besides, the time for that experimentation was probably when we weren't quite so far along, but it somehow didn't feel any more inviting last screen... so... let's move along to relative safety if we can, eh?

We explore... we find some stuff... of... unfathomable meaning, as the HUD doesn't really persist or explain itself much, but I can figure maybe that the golden life blob has something to do with our life meter, filling one of four spaces instead... Heart Container, maybe?

Oh hey, more lava... and... it's angry. I guess. Little fireballs weren't enough and crazy spikes flying off the walls straight into you didn't seem threatening to the desired degree. Now plumes of fire have to shoot through the air while I'm trying not to get rammed into by that jagged-- oh... oh my... oops... that was... very... it felt bad! It was very personally painful! I want to avoid this whenever possible!

...really? We're all the way back here? I definitely don't want to see our little friend get toasted or otherwise harmed if that's what happens... er, I mean, because it FEELS so bad! Fortunately, whatever you accomplished before that, including collectibles and manipulated ...now please excuse me as I painstakingly prove that to myself in spite of all existing evidence. (Science demanded it!)

I'd like to take a moment to extol a small virtue of forma.8's so far... when you find some manipulatable object, it's very clear what you just did either because the effects are still visible onscreen or because the only way back will take you right beside the other suspiciously important-looking object you just activated... until now. (Or whenever you pick something up after that bomb at the very beginning.)

Oh, is it that time again, so sorry! See you next time!