One of the most curious indie proposals so far this year has just landed in the main formats. In its analysis we delve into what this new adventure called Degrees of Separation offers us.
Players who are always looking to enjoy different experiences are sure to give Degrees of Separation a try. I am convinced. And the reason is that, without being the most interesting adventure that I have ever had the opportunity to try, without a doubt one of its main elements that I am going to tell you about is quite new… at least up to a point.
What happens is that the work of the Moondrop studio lacks in certain aspects, especially in one: its little polished technical section. Yes, it is a game that, as you can see, has a very neat aesthetic line and looks quite good in images, but unfortunately it also hides several technical defects that even affect the gameplay. And because of that the adventure as a whole loses quite a few points as I will explain later.
The plot is one of those minimalist plan and, in fact, the two main protagonists ( Ember and Rime ) do not utter a single word during their trip. Instead, the warm voice of a narrator tells us in English (with Spanish subtitles) the details of the story that basically has to do with two opposite worlds that are in trouble. On one side is the frozen world of Rime and, on the other, that of Ember, much warmer. And as you are surely already imagining, Rime possesses the ability to master the power of ice and Ember that of heat.
Launch trailer for the beautiful Degrees of Separation
Bipolar and Cooperative MetroidvaniaIt is precisely on this bipolarity of the protagonists that the grace of this Degrees of Separation is centered , since both decisively affect certain elements that are in the funds and enjoy certain unique abilities . Rime, for example, is capable of freezing water and walking on said surface; while Ember can breathe underwater. Cold and heat are the keys that allow us to elucidate the multiple puzzles that the adventure brings us.
The vertical split screen allows both characters to move away from each other as much as they want … although their thing is that they collaborate side by side.
Some puzzles as numerous as, mostly, not too challenging. In fact, it’s fair to point out that the game’s level of difficulty is quite low. What’s more, now that I think about it, the characters don’t die at any time, so the only obstacles they have to face during their journey are precisely these puzzles. And how have these puzzles been conceived, do they enjoy a good design? Well, there is everything, although the truth is that although some of them do show a very interesting design, many of them can be solved in quite similar ways (something common in these games, on the other hand).
The greatest virtue of Degrees of Separation has to do with the local cooperative modeBeyond the puzzles, the title presents a quite prominent aspect that has to do with exploration. To try to infuse some more complexity into the development, Moondrop has given his work a certain Metroidvania character . That is, it is possible to freely explore the different areas of the scenarios and go back to access new areas. The problem with this is that precisely the design of this feature is not exactly the best quality that the title shows and, in my opinion, this implementation seems somewhat forced. But hey, in any case something more grace does add to the development of the adventure, so one thing for another.
We enjoy a lot of freedom of action within an order, being able to go from one place to another when we want (and we can).
However, the greatest virtue that Degrees of Separation presents has to do with the local cooperative mode (not online) that this production includes and that, without a doubt, becomes the best way to enjoy Rime and Ember’s journey. In this sense and beyond having to collaborate to solve the puzzles, both players enjoy total freedom of action to travel from one point to another of the scenarios, given that when the two protagonists are quite far from each other, the title ” strip ”of vertical split screen to follow the evolutions of the two.
If we play alone, we can alternate the control of both characters with a button and, in the same way, ask the other to follow us or to stay in a certain place. Unfortunately, on certain occasions this system fails and there are times when you would like to assassinate the character who is supposed to follow your directions. But hey, it is also true that these problems are minor and, in addition, the low difficulty presented by the title greatly softens this defect … something that does not happen with everything related to its technical section.
AI issues and other bugs end up negatively affecting the experienceWe are facing a video game that has successes and errors, although the seconds weigh more in my opinion because they end up affecting the gameplay. In its favor, the highlight of all is the suggestive artistic line presented by the sets and that, on more than one occasion, make our eyes happy with landscapes of truly overwhelming beauty. On the contrary, the appearance of the characters is not so successful and is limited to being functional, accentuating in relation to their animations, which I have found quite mundane in general.
Most of the puzzles play with the bipolarity between hot and cold.
Despite the latter, the worst of all is that it is a title that has many bugs , at least in the version I have tested. Badly placed control points that sometimes do not seem to work well, crashes, problems with the detection of objects, problems with the AI when we play alone and other errors end up negatively affecting the game experience. I hope that the developers can fix as many of these issues as possible with a patch because this way the adventure would win integers.
The sound is more sober, with melodies that are limited to accompanying the action without too many pretensions (except for the occasional more inspired theme) and successful but quite scarce effects. A facet that is complemented by a narration in English with texts in Spanish that is quite successful.
“Discreet”
Degrees of Separation
This new metroidvania-style proposal has its own touch of originality and offers us a game mechanic in which the collaboration between two characters with unique abilities is the key. It also has a very attractive aesthetic line and some of the puzzles that we must overcome have a good design, although their development also sins of being too inconsistent at times and has important bugs and bugs. Still, Degrees of Separation is a worthy title in its genre, shining especially in its local cooperative side.
- The local cooperative aspect is quite striking
- The design of some puzzles is remarkable
- Artistically, he gives us very colorful prints
- Metroidvanesque gameplay entertains
- Alone it loses grace and is somewhat “uncomfortable” to handle
- The pace of the game is somewhat irregular and lazy at times
- The animations of the protagonists can be improved and it has several noteworthy bugs
