Review for The Spectrum Retreat. Game for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 10/07/2018 The version for PC came out on 13/07/2018 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 13/09/2018 The version for Xbox One came out on 13/07/2018
It was 2016 when Daniel Smith won the BAFTA's Game Making Award (15-18) with SPECTRUM, a first-person puzzle game. After two years, thanks to the collaboration with Ripstone Games. the young designer offers us the evolution of that project: The Spectrum Retreat. The fundamental ideas of the game have remained the same: we will have to manipulate colors and gravity inside rooms that will test our wits. To this will be added a light plot (perhaps a little too much) based on a mysterious digital world.
The mystery begins with us: we don't know who we are and, when we wake up in a hotel room, we have no clues. The manager of the hotel knocks us on the door and invites us to have breakfast: what appears in front of us, however, is a talking mannequin. A female figure comes to our rescue who contacts us via a mobile phone. The woman explains that we are trapped in a simulation and promises to free us: all we have to do is reach the roof of the building. Unfortunately, we do not have the credentials to use the mast lift: so we have to access a "verification area" to obtain the rights to go up the floor. The five floors of the hotel contain as many challenges divided into levels: to access them, however, we must first live the routine of the hotel (so as not to destabilize the simulation) and find an access key for the next "verification zone".
The work is therefore divided into two distinct phases. We will start with an exploration of the hotel rooms, with some little intriguing environmental puzzles and some storytelling that will help us understand who we are and why we are locked up in this place. These moments are initially mysterious and carry a fair level of tension, but unfortunately the pace will soon drop (also due to the unnecessarily generous size of the hotel) and we will lose some interest in the story.
The narrative is minimalist to say the least: the underlying plot is nice but far too thin and will not have the opportunity to unravel calmly also due to the brevity of the work. Incredibly, the narrative phases are too slow but, at the same time, too short for the player to identify with this digital world. In this sense, the excellent dubbing comes to the rescue: the female voice that will guide us in these phases will be able to make up for, as far as possible, the limited narrative. The work also offers two endings: choosing one instead of the other, however, will make no difference. In both cases, in fact, we will be sent to the credits without having access to a movie or even just an exclusive dialogue.
The Spectrum Retreat still remains a puzzle game and most of the playing time will be dedicated to solving ingenuity challenges. Our only tool will be the aforementioned cell phone: with this we will be able to exchange colors with luminescent cubes. Each level will limit our movements with barriers: to overcome them it will be necessary that our phone is of the same color. Furthermore, in the second half, buttons will be added that will reverse the orientation of the rooms, leading us to walk on the walls and ceilings.
All in all, The Spectrum Retreat is never too complicated: from floor to floor the difficulty rises but never becomes high; for this reason the title is especially suitable for budding players and not for puzzle game experts. If you eat The Witness and The Talos Principle for breakfast, just to name two famous examples, you will find Dan Smith's game very simple. Just when things start to get a little more elaborate, the work ends. Regardless, the challenges are well thought out and will "grow" in an interesting way.
The Spectrum Retreat is obviously a small work by a small creative who has just begun to unleash their talent (or so we hope). Even the technical apparatus respects these production limits. Dan Smith's game should be seen as a starting point, both for him and for players less used to puzzle games. If you want to approach the genre and want a work that can also tell you a story, The Spectrum Retreat is an excellent choice (especially at a discount): the approximately four hours of play will entertain you; if you are a seasoned puzzler, however, this game will be at best a disposable wind chimes.
► The Spectrum Retreat is a puzzle-type game developed and published by Ripstone Games for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 10/07/2018 The version for PC came out on 13/07/2018 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 13/09/2018 The version for Xbox One came out on 13/07/2018
