The Witness - PS4/PC

A week off work has actually turned into a week of working. Not on the laptop, but playing The Witness on PS4. 

I was drawn in by the visuals, and have stayed on Jonathan Blow’s virtual island for the mind-bending assortment of line puzzles. Who’d have thought there were so many ways fresh ways to present drawing a line between A and B? I certainly didn’t - and now my brain hurts. But it’s just so compelling.

I’ve been slowly rewiring my shattered brain to solve seemingly impossible conundrums. I’ve had to walk away for several hours just to try and forget about it - but The Witness, with its endless snaking lines and multi-coloured boxes, is now starting to invade my dreams.

But I’m moving forward and some of my successes have matched the sheer joy of besting gargantuan beasts in Monster Hunter or seeing the credits roll in Dark Souls.

The island Blow has spewed forth from his devilish mind is a truly stunning creation - and it’s an area ripe for exploration. There’s a run button for the impatient - but I’ve steered clear. After all, what’s the rush? There so much to see around the island that giving the puzzles a body swerve just to stroll around this virtual paradise has been, at times, just what my tired mind needed.

Paying attention to the world around you isn’t a pursuit only to solve some of the riddles - although it has to be said that the work that’s gone into fusing the puzzles with the environment is truly inspired.

There’s loads of amazing little touches scattered around the island. It might be the shape of a rock, a submerged surprise, a shadow depicting a monochrome picture… and there’s more - but go see for yourself. And if the mental gymnastics are getting too much, head down to my favourite spot by the river near the bamboo forest and unwind for 10 minutes. The splashing water soothes the soul. Trust me.

What an amazing experience - and I still have hundreds of puzzle panels still to solve.

The Bridge - PC

There is something quite endearing - and familiar - about The Bridge's lead character. Resplendent in blazer, diamond-emblazoned jumper, well-knotted tie and round spectacles, he is an intriguing fellow - and the mystery behind him and the gravity-defying world he inhabits is just as mesmirising.

The Bridge is a puzzler, which likes to futz with gravity, mess with your sense of perspective and takes great delight in being responsible for melting your brain with its collection of gravity-shifting conundrums.

Clearly taking its visual cue from the head-scratching drawings by Dutch artist MC Escher, The Bridge is a thoroughly absorbing title and one which fuses simple controls with visually complex levels.

The player is able to walk the protagonist left and right and can rotate the screen both clockwise and anti-clockwise, with the ultimate goal of reaching a door which then whisks our smartly-presented gentleman into another, more complicated warped world.

Of course, that sounds simple but The Bridge is anything but. Snaffling keys unlocks these doors, but the act of collecting them is a lot tougher than you might initially imagine. They have a tendency to slip into the ether through gaps in the levels as you gingerly rotate the world, dangle tantalisingly just out of reach and perch precariously on ledges.

Even when you manage to collect these monochrome treasures, you still have to navigate your way to the exit - no easy task, especially when giant grinning stone marbles are intent on erasing you from existence and quirky vortexes like to swallow everything and anything that gets too close. Thankfully, The Bridge lets the player rewind time so they are free to finely tune their tactics and this nifty Prince of Persia-like mechanic keeps the game ticking along nicely.

But even though some of the puzzles are maddening - especially when polarity is introduced - the sublime monochrome pencil sketch visuals and gentle music keep the player engaged and seeing what fresh mental torture awaits keeps the player moving doggedly on.

The Bridge, then, is a rather fine game and like any good puzzler there's a wonderful sense of accomplishment when you finally figure out a level. Polished, brilliantly presented and delightfully devilishly, a stroll across this bridge into another world is a trip you should definitely take.

This review initially appeared on the Gert Lush Gaming website. Thanks to Jim for allowing me to post the review here.

The Last Rocket - iPad/iPhone

I stumbled across Shaun Inman's The Last Rocket when I was having a good old rummage through the App Store looking for some tasty morsels.

One glance at the glorious old school visuals and I handed my £1.99 over without a second thought. I've been playing it since last weekend and I can safely say it's a little slice of brilliance.

With the intergalactic war now over, mass production of rockets is due to cease, leaving Flip - the last rocket - on board a starship. Fortunately for the squidgy yellow warhead, he's not redundant quite yet, as a solar flare hits his ship, sending it spinning towards the heart of a nearby star.

By collecting gears for the ship's main computer, our little rocket chum hopes to avert potential disaster - but it's not going to be easy.

The ship is a maze of spikes, fans, flames, moving platforms, switches and conveyor belts. Luckily, the controls are simple and Flip is a dab hand at gravity-defying antics.

A tap on the screen launches him and he’ll stick to any surface he comes into contact with, while a second tap reverses his direction mid-flight. He can also ride air currents, hover, inch along surfaces and crouch to avoid incoming dangers.

Snaffling the spinning gears might be Flip’s main mission, but he doesn't have to collect them all to leave the level - just as well, too, as many of them are perched in precarious positions which could turn Flip into scrap with one false move. In fact, sometimes it is challenge enough simply making it to the exit in one piece.

There are 64 levels to figure out, each one taking up a single screen. And although frustration can creep in occasionally, The Last Rocket has enough charm to pull the player through.

Beautifully presented and a thrill to play, it's a wonderful arcade puzzler. It features lovely retro visuals, an excellent chiptune soundtrack and an adorable new star in the shape of Flip.

So go on, take The Last Rocket on a journey to the stars - it's an adventure that is simply out of this world.