If you suffer from vertigo, this may not be your game. Or, on the contrary, it will help you fight it better. Announced in the summer and now scheduled for October 31, Reflux is a unique video game from Don’t Nod, the studio behind Life is strange either vampire etc. Banishers: Ghosts of the New Eden.
A studio that continues to shine for its creativity, but also for its ability to make us question ourselves, the society that surrounds us and the decisions we must make. Behind her seemingly calm and meditative appearance, Reflux It’s a kind of spiritual quest that involves… climbing.
Nothing here compares to the climbthe hardcore climbing game at arm’s length. Reflux It comes in the form of a puzzle-solving action game that takes you to the heights by climbing a gigantic tower carved out of the rock. Where once lived many inhabitants. But the places are now deserted.
go up to get dizzy
And to understand what happened to this ancient civilization, we play a young man who tries to go in search of survivors and only finds traces of them through frescoes, messages to trace history and moments of life frozen in eternity that can be brought back to life. through shells.
He is accompanied by a strange aquatic being, the Ballast, whose scream echo awakens the few existing fauna to help progress. In a desert environment you will have to choose the right route to climb, use the tools and elements available, but also judge your resistance to manage your forces.
“It is a dreamlike universe that we decided to create from the beginning because it allowed us to focus more on metaphor, on symbolism,” he explains to technology and company Mathieu Beaudelin, co-creative director of waning. “We play vertically, with this tower whose end we cannot see, and it differs from the usual horizontality of games.”
We were able to test the first three chapters (about two hours of gameplay). It’s time to explore different biomes, with varied fauna and flora to apprehend and use to climb, clues to recover through fragments of messages exchanged by the ancient inhabitants. All in a colorful and relaxing environment.
The ode to loneliness and contemplation
This strange silent world is accompanied by an ethereal soundtrack. The only dialogues in a game full of loneliness. That of the mountain, that of the hero facing the environment, but also that of this civilization of solitary beings who wanted to survive at all costs.
“It’s also to give way to nature and encourage people to look around when playing. Environmental storytelling is part of Don’t Nod’s DNA,” she adds.
“Our character had to be alone for our story to have an impact,” adds Mathieu Beaudelin. “A dialogue is established in pairs and we try to tell something that happened in this tower. Dialogue didn’t really have its place. It is also a characteristic of climbers who often find themselves alone in the face of nature, lonely”.
The call of the outdoors invites, it is true, to a progressive meditation. It is also possible to take breaks, hanging from our rope, to contemplate the landscape while we regain strength. And reflect on the meaning of life of those we seek. But do not worry, Reflux It is still an adventure game accessible to the largest number of people, with small puzzles to solve and puzzle mechanisms.
Should we give up everything for a better life or try to enrich the one we have as much as possible even if we see it wither? Questions about the meaning of life, environmental change, that both the hero and the player will ask themselves during their initiation journey, tinged with a little (a lot) vertigo.
This is perhaps the biggest stress in the game: facing the height trying not to fall 100 m below. Spoil: it’s not possible, but Don’t Nod has worked perfectly and we can’t get away from this idea in our heads, controller in hand.
JUSANT: available on October 31 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC
Source: BFM TV
