Video Game Review: Tetragon

Tetragon

Puzzle/platformer

PlayStation 4

Buka Entertainment

Lately I’ve been playing Tetragon, a puzzle game with some platforming elements from the folks at Buka Entertainment. While I generally prefer action in my video games I do sometimes like a good brain-teaser so I thought, why not?

In terms of story, Tetragon is fairly simplistic. A man named Lucios and his son are trapped in the realm of Tetragon. A demon has kidnapped his son and Lucios must navigate the world, save the boy and defeat the demon to return home. It’s not the most interesting or original premise for a video game but it serves it’s purpose. A title focused as heavily on gameplay as this really only needs the story to provide a reason for the gameplay to occur. In that manner, the story of Tetragon is just fine, although it won’t appeal to those expecting a lot of depth or character development.

The gameplay seems basic on the face of it but Tetragon takes full advantage of it to create increasingly challenging puzzles. Each stage of the game consists of a box representing a different location in the fantasy world of Tetragon. Each side of the box is filled with pillars which Lucios can move in and out to help him reach the door to the next stage. There are also podiums which rotate the entire stage and unlockable abilities such as jumping that add new wrinkles as the game goes on. It all makes for an exceedingly fun game that’ll consistently test your problem-solving skills.

There’s only one notable flaw with Tetragon’s gameplay. The method for controlling the movement of pillars. I played the PS4 version and it requires the player to press the L1 or R1 button to cycle through the pillars before manipulating them with the analog stick. The problem is there can be over a dozen pillars per stage so cycling through them all repeatedly feels clunky. A game like this feels geared more towards a touchscreen where you could just tap on the pillar you want and drag it into place. In this sense Tetragon may be better suited to mobile phones instead of home consoles.

As far as the visuals, Tetragon is a good-looking game. The game features 3D characters and structures against a 2D image unique to each level. While the visuals are simplistic and somewhat clichéd they do a serviceable job of presenting a fantasy world. The use of 3D models for the aspects of the game which can be manipulated makes them easily identifiable to players. It’s a nice visual cue to help make the gameplay feel smoother. The soundtrack of the game isn’t particularly loud or memorable but it adds to the atmosphere as you explore this mysterious fantasy world.

Overall, Tetragon is a good title that’s bound to appeal to fans of puzzle-based games. The game is visually appealing with simple mechanics that are used to create complex and interesting puzzles for players to solve. The gameplay loop makes for an addictive little game with the only flaw being that it feels like it would’ve been better on a phone than a home console. I’d have no problem recommending this to any puzzle-loving gamers reading this review.