Mixing both 2D and 3D platforming and puzzle-solving, Contrast presents an intriguing tale about a young girl called Didi, the trials and tribulations of her family and her invisible friend, Dawn, as they face multiple challenges in Didi’s as tries to bring her family closer together.

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Starting off in a small attic bedroom, you (playing as Dawn) begin by helping Didi sneak out of her room to go and watch her mother singing at the local cabaret club. After going through the window onto the roof, Dawn then needs to  use her acrobatic skills to create a safe path for Didi to get to the ground below. The game gradually introduces Dawn’s abilities throughout the story, the main one being the ability to ‘become a shadow person’ to interact with shadows projected onto walls in order to navigate around obstacles in the 3D world and use the shadows to influence specific objects or to solve puzzles. Nearby light sources and moveable items also give you a way to cast different shaped or sized shadows onto walls and surfaces, which can be useful in creating platforms to reach previously unreachable areas.

The platforming in the game is fairly straightforward for the early part of the game. These first few segments have a main objective and place you need to get to, for which you’ll find yourself merging with the walls as a shadow and using objects in the environment to create more shadows you can use to reach your destination.  From Act 2 onwards, the platforming puzzles start to become a bit more involved, with you needing to solve multi-part puzzles to progress, some of which can prove to be quite challenging to figure out straight away. Eventually you’ll be jumping in and out of walls, dashing across gaps and even brining items from the 3D world into the shadows with you to help you reach your objective.  Some of the segments require less puzzle solving, with those relying more on platforming skills instead. A segment in Act 2 is a great example of one of these types of areas, where you remain as a shadow for an extended period of time, while travelling through several environments akin to 2D platforming games of old.

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The platforming in the game is fairly straightforward for the early part of the game. These first few segments have a main objective and place you need to get to, for which you’ll find yourself merging with the walls as a shadow and using objects in the environment to create more shadows you can use to reach your destination.  From Act 2 onwards, the platforming puzzles start to become a bit more involved, with you needing to solve multi-part puzzles to progress, some of which can prove to be quite challenging to figure out straight away. Eventually you’ll be jumping in and out of walls, dashing across gaps and even bringing items from the 3D world into the shadows with you to help you reach your objective.  Some of the segments require less puzzle solving, with those relying more on platforming skills instead. A segment in Act 2 is a great example of one of these types of areas, where you remain as a shadow for an extended period of time, while travelling through several environments akin to 2D platforming games of old.

 

The environment is peppered with several collectibles which help to paint a more complete picture of Didi’s family. Things like signed cheques, unpaid bills and old photos all come with a  snippet of text describing what the items are and how they relate to the story. Underneath the main platforming and puzzle mechanics of the game, the story is really engaging as it unfolds throughout the course of the several hours playing the game.  Seeing the next stage in the saga is one of the main motivating factors in getting past a puzzle.  BaawrhaIEAAUime

Review Summary

Overall, Contrast provides a uncommon take on the puzzle-platforming genre with its 2D to 3D switching mechanic, along with the ways you can use lights and shadows to affect your environment. The first few puzzles are really simple, but once the more challenging stuff shows up, you can find yourself spending much more time trying to figure out what would be the correct way to get past a block in your path. While the game is fairly short in length, the story is great throughout and the collectibles can give a more complete view of the back-story of Didi's family.