Teslagrad is a game we first came across at the recent
Eurogamer expo in London. We were drawn to it by its unique look and the fact
it seemed to be full of clever play mechanics and traps. It’s now finally with
us and we can explore the mystery of a small boy with magnetic powers escaping
into a castle after being chased by some Rasputin-esque looking pursuers.
The game has a style that though familiar we haven’t really
seen before. The Soviet influence reminds us of steam punk animations and fairy
tales from the Eastern Bloc and it works perfectly to set up a mysterious and
unique atmosphere. There is also very little text with the story and controls
explained via drawings and animated theatre puppets. The silence further
intensifies the mystery (even if the lack of tutorial is a little confusing).
There is gamepad support but you’ll have to set it up
manually. Again, this can be a little odd at the beginning of the game as you
don’t really know what half of the commands are. Once you get it sorted out
though it’s a much easier way to play as you’re going to need very
quick reflexes to get through.
Teslagrad is a difficult game and it requires sustained
amounts of quick thinking, jumping and precision placement to get through most
sections. Most of the time you are trying to avoid dropping onto spikes or
electricity but there are also some shadowy beasts and mechanical enemies to
avoid from time to time. You don’t really have any offense so you’ll be darting
past them and running away a lot.
Our little hero is far from powerless though and you’ll soon
find the equipment that gives you the use of a unique set of powers. First off
you’ll get the positive and negative magnetism glove. This allows you to change
the charge of magnetic services and blocks. This means you can get blocks to
move or fall, or use opposite charges to propel yourself up tunnels or across
chasms. The next thing you’ll find is the ability to ‘blink’ or teleport a
short distance. This is vital for passing barriers or dodging enemies and moving
electrical fields. Before long you’re having to bounce around and blink all at
once in sequences that require constant movement. It’s tough and challenging
and certain sections will be repeated over and over and over.
Dying is perhaps where the biggest weakness in the game lies. The controls can feel a little twitchy at times and I don’t think we’ve ever been so frustrated by a character auto-climbing up a ledge they’ve grabbed onto. Death can also feel unfair with the blink ability very difficult to judge while in motion. What compounds the issue is that if you miss a jump or die, there are times you’ll have to repeat quite a large section to get back to where you were. Don’t even get us started on some of the bosses that just never seem to die either.
Dying is perhaps where the biggest weakness in the game lies. The controls can feel a little twitchy at times and I don’t think we’ve ever been so frustrated by a character auto-climbing up a ledge they’ve grabbed onto. Death can also feel unfair with the blink ability very difficult to judge while in motion. What compounds the issue is that if you miss a jump or die, there are times you’ll have to repeat quite a large section to get back to where you were. Don’t even get us started on some of the bosses that just never seem to die either.
Frustration aside this is a very clever and well crafter
game. You do get used to the controls and both the level and graphical design
is of a standard that makes you want to persevere and get to the next section.
The constant climb up the castle and gradual revelation of the mystery within
it are engaging and will likely keep you striving until you reach the end.
There will be some gamers who just won’t be able to cut it though and that’s a
shame as this is a beautiful fairy tale that you really should try.
Overall 8/10