Teslagrad Remastered
A few weeks ago I looked at Girl Genius: Adventures In Castle Heterodyne, the latest game developed by Rain Games. To commemorate the official launch of that game, I decided to take a look at one of Rain Games' earlier titles, perhaps their most well-known one. A special thanks to Rain Games themselves for providing me with keys for the Teslagrad series! Expect follow-up coverage of the game's sequel, which I feel is better than the original in almost every way spoiler alert.
However, what I played here was the beginning of an honest effort. Teslagrad was hard for me to put in a box as it reminded me of a late-90s puzzle platformer from my childhood. One of the first PlayStation games I've owned was Heart Of Darkness, released in 1998 and considered the spiritual successor to Another World, by the same creator. Similarities between the two titles include the way the game presents itself. Each level flowed from one screen to the next with little advice given to the player on how to "solve" whatever puzzle came up next.
All you are given are the items that the game hands you and then it's trial and error. These are where the similarities end as Heart of Darkness is more of a cinematic platformer. While Teslagrad uses the opening cutscene and several throughout to convey its story, it's unraveled as the player explores the haunting tower meant to impede on their progress. Haunted towers meant to stop the protagonist from achieving their ultimate goal? No wonder Girl Genius felt right at home.
The art style is simply amazing, using hand-drawn art and minimalism to convey the world around Teslagrad. It's not simply "muted shades of brown and black," but each color means something to the player. Occasionally, red and blue will indicate the different magnetic charges that the player must use to traverse levels. If an area is above a hazard and there's seemingly no way across, remembering that opposites attract will be enough to pinpoint the right color used to progress.
Everything that is needed to solve a puzzle, identified by each "screen," is given to the player. There may be some upgrades off-screen that the player will need to go out of their way to climb and attain, but there are no hidden stat values and "secret tech" to take notice of. Games like The Entropy Centre are the perfect comparison as another puzzle-driven adventure game despite it being an "FPS." The player is required to use their wits and the unlimited lives the player receives is a blessing in disguise. The player will need to use every single one to survive.
By the time I finished the first boss, I realized that while I didn't enjoy everything the game threw at me up until this point, I understood and appreciated the process that Rain Games was going for. The first boss faces the player off against a giant trash compactor (?) and it may seem as if it's far beyond what the player can handle. That is until a color-coordinated blue suction will signal the player to attack the cubes to match the color, knowing it will suck the cube up, and damage the boss in the process.
I can imagine that future bosses will require far greater strategies to test the players on their prowess. I unlocked a pair of boots that allowed me to not only dash in mid-air but phase through metal objects as well. As the player unlocks more abilities, they will be expected to use every one to their advantage. This is where I'm left with a conflicted response to Teslagrad because it's a rather ingenious gameplay mechanic that I felt should have been given the "tutorial" treatment.
Teslagrad felt more like a proof of concept that would eventually flesh itself out in the sequel, but I'm still glad I got to play the original first in preparation for it. The concept of using physics to solve puzzles is evident in other "indie titles" such as Human Fall Flat, so it's nice to see it be utilized in games like these. I'll come back to this game in particular and finish it as it became frustrating after a while, but it was still a fun introduction to Rain Games' catalog.
Teslagrad Remastered is available on the Nintendo Switch, Sony PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.