Taking part in video games can help you study new issues about distant components of the world or numerous cultures – and that may solely be an excellent factor. That’s the case with The Rewinder; a sport by which the design is predicated on Chinese language ink work. This led me down an web rabbit gap, how the artwork type was developed, the way it has been a part of tradition for the reason that Tang Dynasty over a thousand years in the past.
However The Rewinder is a sport that is filled with different surprises as effectively, because it mixes a bunch of sport mechanics, mini-games, and mythology.
The Rewinder is a point-and-click 2D journey with superb pixel artwork. The story that performs out is nothing in need of epic, and the opening cutscene is informed by means of Chinese language work. There was one thing known as the Struggle of Apotheosis that has ended, but as a substitute of making a world of peace, one thing is critically unsuitable. The entire cycle of demise and rebirth is damaged, as ghosts and demons run wild on the planet. It’s right here the place particular heroes are despatched from heaven – Rewinders. These characters can return into previous recollections, altering the destiny of individuals in regard to their demise.
You play one of many Rewinders: Yun, who appears to be like like he’s retired however known as again into the fray by a sidekick known as Gentle. Yun goes out to assist some misplaced souls discover their means again into the afterlife and work out what’s been going unsuitable. The story is brilliantly unusual, however fantastic and humorous at instances. And there isn’t any hand holding right here, as you’re thrown into an unfamiliar tradition. I discovered it fascinating and the most effective a part of the sport.
The gameplay itself works like a standard point-and-click journey. You stroll across the ranges speaking to the array of characters, each residing and lifeless. You tackle duties, shifting from one place to the following, accumulating objects that you should use and provides to folks for different quest stuff. It’s very a lot the same old fare of a point-and-click journey.
However in The Rewinder there are additionally a tremendous variety of mini-games and puzzles to attempt to full. There are mixture puzzles by which the clues are left mendacity round. There may be a tremendous abacus puzzle, a weight and scales puzzle, and a few fantastic dexterity puzzles.
Then there may be the precise rewinding mechanic itself. This lets you go into sure folks’s previous, all by activating a reminiscence shard. Right here you get to stay out a bit of their lives; a second that impacts how they might die. You possibly can pause and rewatch this part if you happen to like and your objective is to alter the long run, performed by inspecting clues across the space, turning these clues into ideas that can be utilized to alter the individual’s route of motion. So for instance, you might need a thought to cut down a tree that, afterward in life, could kill somebody. These sections are very intelligent and it implies that The Rewinder is unbelievable to play by means of as you’re employed out the solutions.
The sport’s visuals are superior, largely as they’re primarily based on these Chinese language ink work. Working as a pixel sport in type, there are some nice results, lighting, and creativeness proven right here. Good characters and backdrops are the highlights of the sport’s visuals.
However sound-wise, The Rewinder is a disgrace, as a result of I might have liked to have taken on this world with totally voiced characters. As a substitute we’re left to some respectable results and a pleasing soundtrack.
The Rewinder could effectively transport you into a special world and tradition. I doesn’t clarify an excessive amount of, however does present an important piece of storytelling with some wonderful world-building. As with most point-and-click video games, sometimes the puzzles can really feel a bit obtuse. however the different very good sport mechanics just like the mini-games and rewind talent make up for it.
In case you are after a journey into the East with an important story and weird mechanics, then The Rewinder might be up your alley.