Samorost

From the ridiculous to the sublime (whilst staying in the Czech Republic), it’s Samorost. A short, but legendary, game from Jakub Dvorksy.

This one’s slightly different from your common or garden point and click. Firstly, there are no items to collect and use; the way to progress is by interacting (ie, clicking) on the scenery in the correct order.

By doing so, you set in motion the chain of events that gets our little white-hatted character from one end of the screen to the other, and so onto the next screen.

The premise of the game is that our hero’s planet is going to be hit by a rogue planet or asteroid of some description, and so he does what any of us would do: he charters his little tin can of a rocket ship, and flies onto the alien rock to avert the danger.

The art really is quite beautiful. If you check Dvorsky’s webpage for Amanita Design, you will see other examples of animations and games in a similar style, including an awesome video that he created for a song by the brilliant Danish band Under Byen . It’s the kind of thing that if you like Samarost’s style, then you’re likely to appreciate all of the Amanita stuff.

The puzzles are abstract, but if you don’t possess that kind of brain then a bit of random clicking will usually see you through; quite often, you will see the solution to the problem only after having solved it, as things move slowly into place.

The only minor problem with the game is its length. The first time I played it, some years ago, I was convinced that I was getting into the most amazing gaming experience of my life and then… it finished. At 6 screens, it’s nicely lunch break-sized, but you may be a little disappointed when it finishes, such is its beauty.