REVIEW: Eversion
Lisvender sent us a review of a free PC game. After a week of E3 shenanigans, something slightly insane is just what we need to restore our sanity.
If your idea of wrapping yourself in cosmic wonder is reading The Call of Cthulhu, here’s a free PC game that’s worth your while. Eversion is a platform game whose hero, who resembles a daisy with legs, has the ability to move between dimensions. The process is called eversion, and each dimension he passes through is darker and more dangerous than the previous one, so Daisyman’s search for The Princess starts in Super Happy Cute Land, and finishes in Psycho Bloody Demon Hell.
Players move Daisyman from left to right, jumping over pits, stomping on enemies, and collecting gems. Super Mario Bros. is channeled with the flagpoles at the end of each stage, and the smiling blocks that produce gems when jumped into from below. What’s not so Mario-like are the mysterious Eversion Points: tiny spots in each level where the background colors and music will change a bit when Daisyman stands in them. Press the Evert button while in one of these points, and the world changes, usually for the worse. Plants that flowered and flourished a moment earlier are now withered and weak. Brick platforms that were once solid and sturdy are now fragile, and will crumble beneath Daisyman’s feet. The smiling enemies that skipped along the grass before are now slow, slithery creatures. The music takes on a more somber tone. The sky darkens.
If I go into any more detail than this, I’ll spoil the experience. I’ll just say that there are some tough jumps, a lot of puzzles that require players to exploit the rules of each dimension, and even a few postmodern surprises. By the end of the game, players will have been chased, torn apart, and taunted.
My only complaint about Eversion is that you cannot evert at will; you can only do so at the predetermined Eversion Points. Such an ability would add a ton of potential for exploration and secrets. It would also make finding all of the game’s gems easier than it is now. I realize that the current design is what makes the game’s progression so unique, but hunting for Eversion Points, and then maneuvering through each of the game’s dimensions in proper order, just to grab some collectibles, gets tiresome fast. You’ll have do it, though, if you want to see the game’s “good” ending.
What really makes the game interesting is that so much about it is nebulous. There are no cutscenes to explain what’s going on, so I had to think about it myself. The chief question I pondered while playing it was whether Daisyman was actually changing the world when he everts, or moving from one universe to an alternate one. Does he have the power to alter the creatures around him, or do they occur in their worlds naturally? If so, how do those one-eyed, staring slug-things in Dimension 4 eat or find shelter? Do they just lay there all day, drawing nutrients from the rocks? I realize it’s a silly thing to think about, but it’s also fun, and hey: any video game that gets me to think earns a special place in my heart.
I recommend Eversion to any gamer who likes a little thrill and curiosity. It’s fun, challenging, and free, so you can at least give it a try. Check it out at the link below.
Final Rating: 2/3
Download it here: http://zarat.us/tra/offline-games/eversion.html
Reviewed by Lisvender
