Honestly this game had so much more potential than it lived up to. I was really intrigued by the shift between the 2D/3D world, and the surrealist/psychological undertones, but those ended up being all for show. The game felt like a tease to a really engaging story and felt so underdeveloped and rushed. It was hard to really like it because the plot felt rushed in the beginning with hardly any build up and ended really abruptly. It was really a let down and I wouldn't play it at all.

• Developers: Compulsion Games
  
• Publishers: Focus Home Interactive
  
• Initial release: Nov 2013
  
• Genre: Platformer, Puzzle, Adventure
  
• #Worth/NotWorth: #Worth

Contrast is a 3D puzzle platformer with an interesting noir-ish art style that stems beyond a purely visual effect.

In Contrast, you control Dawn. An imaginary person for most intents and purposes; The imaginary friend of Didi Melakaya. A troublesome gal whose parents have had some hard times. Totally understandable and relatable hard times.

From Dawns perspective the world seems rather empty, as Didi is the only person she can actually see manifested in non-shadow form. Dawn is rather unique in that she herself can turn into a shadow. As a shadow she can walk and interact with other shadows and this is the main aspect of puzzle solving in the game.

Moving light sources and traversal of the 3D platforms as well as the traveling between the two dimensional shadows allows for some interesting puzzle solving. This can be slightly mind bending at first while some puzzles suffer from mildly clunky controls but it's not that big of a deal in all fairness. Dawn seems to be a fairly lanky character and moves rather quickly for the size of the environment. This is a very minor thing but it's just something I noticed that threw me off a little.

I mentioned that Dawn can become a shadow and that Didi is the only person she can see. All other people in the world are only shown as shadows. Though their voices can still be heard. Gives it a very noir feeling aside from the art style itself. I have always seen Dawn as more than an imaginary friend of Didi's creation and much more of a “how she sees herself as an adult”. Her inner desires manifest for the sake of gameplay and story telling device.

The voice acting is very good indeed. Didi's father being the most noticeable without having to do much research. Quickly recognizing him as the same actor that played Aden Jensen from Deus Ex.

I actually finished this game a while back but decided to revisit it briefly in the wake of “We Happy Few” from the same developers.

THE GIST
Well made character adventure puzzle/platformer with unique art style.

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I love this game it has a really good story and gameplay but i only wish the game was alittle longer

BEAUTIFUL!
FUN!!
SWEET!!!
i feel sad it was so short...

no need to say more,
it is a game you shoulen't miss

10+/10

I finished the game in about 3 hours. It's short with a very basic story. It felt more like a puzzle game then an adventure game. The puzzles are very easy, except the last one. I got stump on the last one for 10 to 20 minutes until I figured it out. It was one of those "Oh, of course" moments.


Sooo, why do I recommend it. The atmosphere, the stylization, the music, and good voice acting. The transition between 3-D to 2-D was a novel approach. I do think the game is one of those unique games. There is nothing quite like it.

The game feels like a prologue. There needs to be more chapters to it. If it's on sale, don't hesitate.

The puzzles don't get too difficult. I was afraid they would get really annoying with all of the moving light pieces but thankfully it never got too hardcore. It's about 4 hours long, if you like puzzle platformers give it a go if you find it for a good price. It's not spectacular in any way but the style and aesthetics are pretty cool .

It's a short, but great game!

I love the switching between 'two worlds', the story is great, no glitches at all.

Even though it's as short as it is, I can really recommend this game. ♥♥♥♥♥♥ that I can't give more than one thumbs-up!

Although the game is short,it's still one of the best game I've ever played. Love the concept, the art, the environment, the puzzle, basically everything in it. But I got to say there are still some bugs need to be fixed.

(I've finished the game 3 times lol)

A very beautiful game, but very very broken in mechanics.

I love it when small indie studios know exactly what they're capable of and don't bite off more than they can chew, while still bringing innovative and fun ideas to the table. Compulsion Games's Contrast is a prime example of this, a game entirely based on one novel gameplay mechanic and an efficient story, short enough to never force the gameplay to become repetitive or the player's attention to slip. The real star, however, is the environment. The game has such a strong art design, that the game oozes atmosphere and the world seems to be full of life despite the fact that there are only 2 physical people walking around in it. The soundtrack is equally phenomenal.

Now I personally don't care about game length vs game price, however I did finish the game in under 3 hours, with all but one collectible found, and I spent quite some time having to tackle platforming sections over and over again due to somewhat clunky controls. Still, Contrast offers such a pleasant overall experience that I think it's totally worth buying.