Release Date: 14/12/2017
Played On: Win
Available On: iOS / NS / PS4 / Win / XBO
Time Played: 5h 17m
Progress: Completed
Developer: Jason Roberts
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
I know a lot of people out there like to tick a lot of boxes with their games. It's why we have games that shove in as many collectables and modes as possible, with no regard to their quality. On the other hand, it's why I've often heard people complain about games that focus too much on a single element, even if they pull it off superbly. Why then, does everyone love Gorogoa so much?
Sure this may not be the biggest game release in the last few years, but it managed to acquire a good level of exposure thanks to its undeniable strengths. However, as much as I enjoy this little game, I'm left wondering about what it did differently to others in its class. After all, there's very little in Gorogoa beyond the core aesthetic and gameplay. There aren't any special modes, and there's a distinct lack of bells and whistles.
Don't get me wrong though, those are all reasons why I typically love a good narrative game. What puzzles me is how some of my favourite story-driven games are classed with the derogatory genre of "walking simulator" instead of something more positive like "rich story experience" or something. Hence why I'm a little confused about what makes Gorogoa stand above its contemporaries and gain that mass-market seal of approval.
The game itself is wonderful, so I'm happy to see it get universal acclaim. This is one game where the art is intricately woven into the game's mechanical systems, that it becomes a bit of a mind bending journey from start to finish. It reminds me a little of Antichamber, which messed with your head thanks to unrealistic geometry and pathing that changed as you moved through it.
At its core, Gorogoa is a relatively straight forward puzzle game that can easily be beaten in a single sitting with very little bother. There's nothing to do in the game other than solve small sections of a broader puzzle that fills the game from start to finish. The difficulty will depend entirely on your own lateral thinking skills, but once you understand the language of the game it all becomes pretty standard.
Although, that says nothing for the sense of wonder and discovery that you will gain from playing this little art piece. The way each puzzle is put together and eventually solved, will have you smiling with recognition at a clever bit of video game design.
It often feels like that moment when you turn the page in a choose-your-own-adventure novel to discover that your choice was the right one and you live to fight another day. Sometimes you're even rewarded for randomly putting pieces of each puzzle together, as there's no wrong answers and it's impossible to mess up entirely. If nothing else, Gorogoa is a masterclass on the power of creative design, which becomes apparent as soon as you interact with its main gimmick.
Yes, this is a puzzle game at its heart, but I don’t think I've played anything quite like it before. The first thing anyone probably notices about Gorogoa is its beautiful art style. I can see how it might not be for everyone, but the hand-drawn and coloured pencil aesthetic is easy on the eyes and a pleasure to soak in as you stress the logic muscles in your brain. This is where art and gameplay cross paths, as its only through manipulating the art itself that we're able to interact with the game.
Narratively we are tasked with guiding a boy through a series of scenes as he searches for a series of coloured orbs. There's something about a large dragon-like beast and how different colours relate to different things, but to be honest I didn't pick up on the finer points of the "plot".
Instead I found myself soaking up the vibe of the game in a more ambiguous manner. From that angle, Gorogoa is an epic adventure that reflects the challenges we face in life. It's a tapestry of the moments in our existence when we're challenged with new discoveries and meaningful quests. Of course, that could all be a big pile of wank, but I always appreciate a narrative that lets you make up your own mind, without being gratuitously random.
Mechanically, the main thing to remember is that we're guiding a boy through various scenes in an effort to find some coloured balls. That might sound entirely reductive, but for the purposes of trying to explain what's going on, that will do.
From the screenshots you've seen on the page so far, it should be fairly apparent that we're always looking at a screen that's divided in to various sections. Most of the time this takes the form of quadrants that can be dragged and dropped on top of each other, or their positions can be swapped. At the same time we can zoom in and out of each section to reveal different aspects, as well as move horizontally at certain points.
What this means is that you'll be spending your time moving different parts of a picture around the screen in order to try and match certain elements together. For example: in one scene there's a close up of a crow siting on the branch of a tree. Another section has an apple, which attaches itself to the tree when its placed below the image with the crow sitting on the branch. Additionally, we have a wide shot of a tree that fits to the right of the crow picture, and when we zoom out, the crow's branch becomes part of the tree.
When we started there were three different images: a crow on a branch, an apple on its own, and a wide shot of an entire tree. By attaching the apple to the crow's branch, then zooming out so that the branch became part of the tree, we then see the whole scene as it's meant to be. Once all the pieces are put together, the crow flaps its wings, moving the branch, and causing the apple to drop down to where our boy is waiting to catch it. This then becomes the red ball he's been searching for.
Of course that's just one small example that I probably got wrong, but hopefully it explains how Gorogoa approaches its puzzles. It's only by shifting around each panel on the screen that any progression can be made. Often it's as simple as moving an empty doorway onto a closed room so the boy can walk outside, but at best you'll be keeping track of multiple levels of detail.
Some of the more mind-bending parts of game require zooming in multiple levels to reveal one little element, then moving it to another panel before zooming all the way back out again. Others need multiple layers to be uncovered and rearranged in order to make a new image with different progression logic. This is the heart of Gorogoa and is literally what you'll be faced with for the entire game.
I suppose this is why its critical success confuses me a little, even though I agree that this is one hell of a cool game. However, the single-minded approach to game progression that does nothing new or different along the way, is a little strange. At most it increases in complexity a bit toward the end, but this is still a puzzle game that can be steamed through fairly easily.
All I can assume is that this kind of focused gameplay is more appealing to the masses than the simple exploration of a pure narrative experience. Perhaps puzzling is more interesting than a good story, as Gorogoa can't hold a candle to more story-focused experiences like Virginia or Gone Home.
Then again, maybe it's unfair to compare these games as they share very little other than a singular mindset. By the same token, games like Fortnite and DOTA 2 are also stuck on a singular path as they do very little outside of their core experience. Perhaps the answer is that popularity and acclaim aren't tied to the number of feature available in a game, and instead focus more on some kind of subjective combination of timing and accessibility. I don't know, but I feel like Gorogoa doesn't confuse me as much anymore after all.
This is a game that excels in just about everything It tries to do. The art and animations are incredibly beautiful, but the way the art ties into the actual gameplay is pure genius. I think that might be difference I'm trying to put my finger on. It's probably easier for critics and gamers to overtly understand the complexity of a game like Gorogoa, while narratives like Virginia seem straight forward by comparison.
I don't agree that one is better than the other, but I will concede that Gorogoa definitely shows of its mechanics a little more than the mechanics of pure story telling. In fact, if there's something I don't like about Gorogoa, it's that it keeps everything a little muted when it comes to its scope. Maybe it's because I found it fairly easy to solve its puzzles, or maybe it's because it's just a tiny game that can only do so much. Whatever the reason, despite feeling ultimately satisfied when the credits rolled, I couldn't help feeling like there was room for a little more.
I've said it before, but balancing this kind of thing must be one of the hardest things to do as a game developer. Sure there are limitations that come from budget and time, but you also don't want to overwhelm your audience. I've played many racing games that have gone on for way too long and I would have appreciated a shorter campaign mode, so you can definitely go too big. Unfortunately for me, Gorogoa could have been that tiny bit longer and a little more complex, but I appreciate this is probably something unique to my own experience.
At the end of the day, your own mileage with a game like Gorogoa is going to depend on how much you enjoy the presentation, and how much you enjoy its core (only) mechanic. Apparently there are many people who don't like the purely narrative experience of a "walking simulator", but I suppose there are plenty who like a little bit of logic puzzling through beautiful drawings.
To that end, Gorogoa is a game that needs to be played if any part of its feature-set appeals to you. On the other hand, if you've seen five minutes on YouTube and it looks boring as hell, then maybe try something that's more up your alley.
I loved my time with Gorogoa and very much enjoyed discovering every new scenario and sequence as I progressed. I'm a sucker for good looking art, and even more of a sucker for art being used in creative ways. There's always something satisfying about an aesthetic that has more of a role than just looking good on a screen. The integration between art and mechanics in Gorogoa are a breath of fresh air and are compelling to play with.
What I'd like to see in the future is for this development team to tackle something a little larger in scope. Right now I feel like I just finished a delicious five course meal, but all I want is a little spoonful of something sweet to top it all off.