Creaks from Amanita Design is a new 2D puzzle adventure on PlayStation 4. Learn more in our Creaks review!
Indie team Amanita Design, who gave is the fun point and click adventure game Machinarium, is now back on PlayStation with Creaks, a new puzzle adventure. The game has an interesting art style and features hand-painted characters and locations that really pop on PlayStation 4. The controls are simple and to the point, allowing players to get right into the puzzle-solving action without having to worry about complicated button combinations. You will move your character with the left analog stick, zooming in on each location with the L2 button. Your actions are mapped to the X buttons, and every now and then, you’ll be able to perform a special action with the Triangle button.
The game’s main menu shows the main character sitting at a desk in his room, reading a book as he enjoys a warm drink. As soon as you start the game, you will realize that the aforementioned scene is actually where the whole adventure will begin! A lightbulb in the room starts to flicker, which prompts your character to stand up. Once you walk closer to the lamp and press the X button, you will screw in the lightbulb in order to stop the flickering,
You walk back to the desk to try and continue working with the book when the light starts to flicker again. So off you go to turn the lightbulb again. After doing this, part of the wallpaper on the wall tears off, so you try to fix it. The lightbulb starts to flicker again, but when you try to fix it, the thing explodes! The curtain on the window lowers automatically, and the wallpaper rips off again. It is then that you notice there’s a grate on the wall, so you grab a flashlight and start to explore the tunnel. It is then that your journey begins.
As for the puzzles you’ll have to solve, and without spoiling things, you will have to overcome more than one predicament if you are to survive. Take, for example, the robotic dog-like creatures you will find early in the game. If they hear you, they will get ready to run after you, and you can probably imagine how much a bite from their metal jaws would hurt! But what if my you could lure it to follow you so that you can quickly go up a ladder to activate a switch that will lower a wall that will keep the dog from going after you again?
The game has dozens of trophies to add to your collection, with a Platinum waiting for you at the end of the process. The good news is that once you complete the game, you can use the handy scene select option to go back and get another chance at the trophies you haven’t unlocked. Other than a trophy for completing the game, the rest of the trophies will be tied to finding the hidden secret rooms to finding all paintings in the game, as well as for completing the sequences for the interactive paintings that will have a puzzle for you to solve.
Creaks is a great looking and fun 2D puzzle adventure that will test your wits with clever but fair puzzles. It has a handful of hours-worth of content to offer, with an eclectic soundtrack that is a great match for the hand-drawn art that makes everything just pop. As long as you use light sources to your advantage, and take your time to figure out the best way to solve each of the puzzles, you’ll be in for a good time. Creaks is out on PlayStation 4 with a $19.99 asking price.
Disclaimer
This Creaks review is based on a PlayStation 4 copy provided by Amanita Design.
