Once again, I’m here to review what I feel is a brilliant hybrid of game-styles I absolutely love. Gateway is a brain teaser that mixes the gameplay and controls of point-and-clicks like monkey island, with the level-based puzzle solving of games like chip’s challenge.

The art in this game is designed to look low-poly 3D. It’s not detailed in any way, and the animation is pretty minimal, but this simplified approach is rather quite pleasing, much like Apple’s design approach in their hardware.

The sound also has a simplistic elegance. The buttons, objects and footsteps are all fitting, and the music has been bypassed for more of an eerie ambiance. That, mixed with the minimal level art, draws you into a void-like atmosphere that you really do want to escape from.

The gameplay is very easy to pick up. All you do is click where you want to walk, click on things you want to use, and…well… that’s about it! But if you aren’t too bright, the first few levels will tell you exactly how to click on stuff.
The levels are brilliantly designed, each one forcing you to use your brain to figure out what you need to do to progress. I especially loved some of the later levels where you spy on this house and watch other block-people moving around.

There is some degree of frustration in the collision. A lot of the time if you are near a wall or edge, and you click to walk in a straight line, your block-man won’t move. Kind of like guiding a fat, blind man with no arms, through a narrow hallway, only not nearly as funny. It’s a minor annoyance most of the time, and you just need to click a little closer to get unstuck.
About the only thing stopping this game from getting a much higher score is how short it is. There’s only around 10 levels or so to figure out, and if you are smart each one will only take you a few minutes at most.

If you aren’t the brightest crayon in the box, there is a save feature so you can spend as long as you need figuring out each level, and you can always pick up where you stopped at any time.
I’m really hoping to see a sequel or an expansion of some kind, because I really enjoyed the challenge and style of this game. Now… where did that armless, fat-ass, blind guy I was looking after go?

[ Play Gateway ]