M.C. Escher would be proud of The Bridge, a game that bends minds and reality itself, making us reevaluate what we think of this simple world. Are your ready to learn more about this title? Then check out our The Bridge review.
The Bridge is a 2D logic puzzle game that forces the player to reevaluate their preconceptions of physics and perspective. It is Isaac Newton meets M. C. Escher. Manipulate gravity to redefine the ceiling as the floor while venturing through impossible architectures. Explore increasingly difficult worlds, each uniquely detailed and designed to leave the player with a pronounced sense of intellectual accomplishment. The Bridge exemplifies games as an art form, with beautifully hand-drawn art in the style of a black-and-white lithograph.
* 48 thought-provoking puzzles, each unique from the rest, all requiring an innovative solution.
* Gravity manipulations, gravitational vortexes, parallel dimensions, and many more mind-bending concepts in a world where the laws of physics are not what they seem.
* M. C. Escher-esque worlds with impossible architecture set in the style of beautifully hand-drawn black-and-white lithographic art.
The Bridge is a puzzle game based on the designs of M.C. Escher. The game opens with your character sleeping under a tree and having an apple fall on his head. It is then that your Journey to find The Bridge begins.
The premise of the game is very interesting. You need to explore the rooms in your house that lead to odd dimensions. Once inside of a dimensional room you need to get to the exit. It’s a pretty straightforward goal, but you will soon realize that it’s not as easy as it seems. Luckily, you do have one major tool at your disposal! You can actually rotate the world using the shoulder buttons on the controller, and this will help you get past hard to reach areas, as you can flip yourself upside down. It’s simple at first but once you get to the later levels, it gets more complicated.
The levels themselves throw some wrenches at you. Some have enemies that you need to avoid, such as the little evil rolling balls. But you can use them to hit switches, and therefore you don’t want them to go away completely. As you get up in the levels you will find Vortex’s that can trap you, things that will change you from black to white which affects how you interact with the world, and Veils that allow you to control objects in the world differently. They all add little twists to the gameplay organically building on the excellent level design.
The Bridge has a little over 20 levels, but once you beat them there are Mirror versions that you can play through again until you reach the ending. It will probably take you a few hours to get through the game, but it all depends on how good you are with puzzle games in general.
As mentioned earlier, the game’s art style is completely reminiscent of M.C. Escher. All of the worlds have this fantastic level design in a world that is black and white, giving the game a distinct feel and original style. The Bridge always has this haunting feeling about it and the art style drives that home. The music keeps up with the haunting theme as well – it’s mysterious and drives you further while playing.
The Bridge has 20 trophies total. One of them is a Silver trophy, and the rest are Bronze. Most are awarded for completing the regular and mirror levels, but a few are based on being as efficient as possible on certain puzzles in the game. It’s a good challenge, but it would have been great to see more trophies including a Gold or Platinum.
PS Vita Thoughts:
I did play this on Vita as well as it is a cross-buy and cross-save title. The game runs perfectly on Vita and is very similar to the PS4 version. It still uses the shoulder buttons to control the world, making it play the same. Having cross-save was perfect too as you can take it on the go and have some fun, to then continue the progress on the big screen. This is a great handheld title and a great purchase for Vita owners
FINAL THOUGHTS:
The Bridge is a great puzzle game with a simple premise that leads to so much more. It’s not long, but the time you will spend with the game will drive you crazy, but in a good way. Good puzzle games have that effect on players. I love the art style and the theme of the game, even if they are a bit out there. This game does something different and stands out from the pack.
Disclaimer
This review is based on a copy of The Bridge provided by The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild.
