From the creators of The Adventures of Shuggy (review here), Smudged Cat Games brings us a quite unique game called Gateways for the PC. Gateways is a 2D platform game about a lab scientist named Ed, who is trying to escape his very own lab after an outbreak of his experiments. You are in control of Ed and your mission is to navigate him through his lab solving puzzles and ultimately helping him escape. If you have yet to play any of the Smudge Cat games, you should know that the guys behind both games really like their puzzles. It’s time to get your thinking cap on, Gateway is no easy game so be prepare to get your mind blown and to be puzzled at some of the puzzles that you are bound to encounter.
Gateways might be simple enough for everyone to play but don’t be fooled by appearances. The controls are simple and straight forward, you use the A, D to navigate through the lab. The W and Space Bar is to jump, the left mouse button is your primary gateway while the right mouse button is your secondary. Sounds easy enough, plus every time you get a new invention, a tutorial on how to use said invention pops up so you will never have to really guess how to use it. To switch around weapons you just have to hit keys 1,2,3, and 4 to select the gateway of your choice. To get rid of all the Gateways and restart you simply select C to cancel.
Everything is better with Gateways
Now that we have the controls down, lets talk about the graphics. Gateways is a simple game with 2D sprite like graphics, think of it like Minecraft except 2D. Gateways reminds you of the good old days where graphics weren’t really important as long as you have good controls and a story to follow. If you still feel lost as to what Gateways is all about, think of it as a Portal in a Super Mario Bros for the NES setting. The game might look simple enough but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the game is easy. You will get stuck, die a lot, and even rage a bit as you encounter more puzzles. Now before you begin throwing your keyboard and mouse around, the creators have given you a “help point” option where, by spending blue orbs that you get to collect in the game, you get a hint on how to solve the puzzles.
Here is how the Help points work. To activate the help points cost 1o orbs which tell you if the puzzle is solvable or not with your current equipment. If the puzzle is solvable then 40 orbs will ultimately solve the puzzle for you. Now sometimes to solve the puzzle will require 40-60 orbs depending on the difficulty. Once you activate the help points with 10 orbs and the puzzle is unsolvable, don’t be wary, the help point will give you some clues to help you complete whatever is needed to make the puzzle solvable. Some of the hints might be as simple as “something else is needed to complete this puzzle” but others tells you more specific hints like “you must kill all enemies before continuing.”
The map design is just one big map that slowly unlocks as you discover new areas. Whenever you get stuck, you can always pull up the map by pressing M and head the other way. Ed is equipped with a handy Gateway gun which can be used strategically to help you out with the puzzles. The Gateway gun, similar to the Portal gun, simply shoots one Gateway on one spot and the other Gateway on another. Doing so allows you to go in one and come out the other. What truly makes the game shine however is the different Gateway guns you can acquire as you progress through the game.
Choose your Gateway Gun Wisely!
At the beginning of the game you start out with the basic gun. The gun only transport Ed from one spot to another. After that you acquire the “Size Altering” gun which lets you shrink or make Ed twice his size depending on which Gateway you enter and leave. Later in the game you will encounter the “Time Travel” gun which lets you connect to another location and time, basically it lets Ed travel back in time and see an earlier version of himself. The last gun you will receive is the “Gravity” gun which lets you manipulate gravity allowing Ed to walk along walls and ceilings.
In Gateway you will encounter puzzles early on that you will not be able to solve until you find the different Gateway guns so don’t be surprise if you can’t solve a puzzle or some of the enemies are walking on the ceiling and you have no idea how to kill them. As you progress through the game you will find yourself going back and forward throughout the map whether it will be to explore or just you got stuck and have no idea what to do next. Backtracking is always a good option, keep that in mind as you play.
If you are into puzzles and love retro games then Gateways might just be the choice for you! But if you want to try it out before you buy you can download the Demo @ http://smudgedcat.com/gateways.htm
Gateways is only for PC and can be yours for only $10 through the smudged cat website only!
