Like Portal, the game adopts a first-person perspective and features a series of compartmentalized experiences which are typically dominated by a small number of consecutive, related logic puzzles. The humor is somewhat similar to that of the Portal series, though now, the game appears to be considerably less cinematic, less gritty, and quite a bit more lighthearted and cartoony. The narration accompanying the action is provided by a supposedly mad scientist (whose home the game actually takes place—or at least begins—within).
Safes and switches… smacks of Portal
The similarities end there, however. There is portal gun in Quantum Conundrum, but instead you get around by manipulating various different dimensions. Each dimension sports a particular characteristic which affects the way the environment works. For instance, in the demo, we witnessed three different dimensions: Fluffy Dimension (where objects are ten times lighter than normal), Weighted Dimension (where objects are much heavier and denser than normal), and Slow Motion Dimension (as the scientist puts it, it’s self-explanatory).
As you navigate, you’ll be tasked with switching between the dimensions to progress. The R and L triggers are mapped to specific dimensions—simply press and hold one to wash its corresponding effects all over your surroundings. Puzzles start out quite elementary with such easy tasks as entering the Fluffy Dimension to pick up a safe and place it on a floor switch or forcing an ordinary box down on a similar switch using weighted dimension. However, things quickly become more complex and intriguing when such elements as lasers are introduced, which are obviously dangerous and vaporize any ordinary object (including you) in their path. You can use the Weighted Dimension to fortify such vulnerable objects so that they are too dense to be destroyed by these lasers, and this concept is used to great effect throughout the rooms in the demo.
That thing with the four holes is where you add dimensional control capsules
For instance, there was a situation around halfway through the demo where a button drops four vertical stacks of four safes on the ground in front of a ledge. Shortly thereafter, a laser begins firing and oscillating back and forth. You have to time your dimensional activation trigger finger to fortify safes such that the laser destroys them and creates a sort of staircase of safes. Then you can hop your way up to the ledge above and continue on. It’s definitely pretty cool.
Slow motion dimension on the other hand can get you through such hazards as quickly spinning fans and allow you to jump onto flying debris that normally would be moving far too quickly to interact with. Shortly after you get to this point, the demo ends, however, leaving you wanting more.
Oh, and did I mention that the humor is great? Each time you die you are presented with a random example of something which you’ll never be able to experience now that you’re dead. It’s a short, few-seconds-long blurb of text that, for instance, reminds you that you’ll now never be able to experience your favorite song transformed into elevator music. And the scientist narrator (essentially the replacement for GLaDOS) whose house you’re traversing is hilarious—randomly remarking about such subjects as how much he misses keytars.
Guess what this bird does.
All in all, I really enjoyed my time with Quantum Conundrum. If the innovation continues throughout the entire adventure (and it seems likely that it will), it’s going to be well worth the price of admission.
