When I was at the video game expo PAX Prime last year, the game The Bridge really caught my eye. It won a highly sought-out spot on the PAX 10, PAX's list of the top 10 indie games. But as I was struck down with a classic case of acute PAX-overload-titis, The Bridge was soon out of sight and out of mind. However, it was recently released on Steam for Windows and it caught my interest all over again.
Developed by programmer Ty Taylor and artist Mario Castaneda, The Bridge is a puzzle game self-described as "Isaac Newton meets M. C. Escher." I'm quoting it directly because it's the best way to phrase it! As in Portal, the goal is to cross a level from start to finish with a clever use of gravity. Your only controls are making the character walk left and right, rotating the scene left and right, and scrolling back in time.
The Bridge is absolutely worth including in your next family game night. The whole gang can gather behind the computer screen and discuss the best approach to each new puzzle, the one with the winning strategy gets bragging rights! The simplicity of the controls ensures no one will be lost learning how to use a dozen buttons.
Moreover, there's really no way to fail. If your character dies–for example your character can get hit by a boulder, but there's no graphic evidence of "death"–you can reset that specific puzzle from the start or backtrack in time to undo what went wrong. This means there's no other challenge than logic itself.
The beautiful black and white lithography-style art contributes as much to the game experience as the actual game design. Its understated elegance is appealing without being flashy, a rare occurrence in video games. The game includes 48 puzzles, the more challenging ones making use of mind-boggling concepts like gravitational vortexes and parallel dimensions. Should you finish the game and desire additional brainiac fun, you can unlock an alternate version of many of its puzzles.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this game for review purposes.
