7TH SECTOR Review: A Dark Sci-fi World Of Puzzles

XB1 Review Code Provided by Sometimes You

Being thrown into a silent, violent world with little-to-no instructions or introductions has become a staple in the puzzle game genre. It lets the player focus on what they need to do while making them wonder what is going on and where they are trying to get to. Given the 2D, or in this case 2.5D, game style, this lack of information doesn’t hinder the player and gives a mysterious atmosphere that makes us heed caution.

Now that Sometimes You have brought 7th Sector over to console I have been given a chance to play through it. Overall, we are looking good, but there are some glaring issues. Let’s break it down further.

Story

There is definitely some kind of story lurking behind the gameplay. Nothing is explained to you and there is no actual dialogue anywhere, so this is a story you will have to put together yourself. Since there are multiple endings and a lot of stuff going on in the backgrounds, you can be sure to find clues in all parts of the game that could tell you what is going on.

Gameplay

I’m going to start this off by saying that I really do like the aspect of not being told what to do and rather being thrown into the game from the start. However, if you are going to do this then your controls have to be consistent and simple the entire playthrough. Way too many times the player is introduced to a puzzle with its own control scheme that differs from the rest of the game and other puzzles making it a guessing game until you figure it out. This makes the lack of information more of a hindrance than a quality aspect of the game. When a game is made with this style, all puzzles should be made to be solved within the control scheme the player is given from start so that we don’t have to focus on the controls and keep the focus on the hidden story, puzzle-solving, and overall progress.

The puzzles themselves are pretty good once you figure out the controls for them. I like that there is a variety of different types and they all had an easy to understand set up. It was also a nice touch to have the hint for solving the puzzle differ in each case where it could all be on the same screen or you would have to search the area near the puzzle to find the hints that put the answer together for you. In this same instance though, there were times that the hints didn’t give enough information and the trial-and-error process is what got me through the puzzle.

Playing through all the different types of bodies that we took over was an aspect of the game that kept my interest as well. I would have enjoyed a longer section with some of them, mainly the race car, but I liked the variety of mechanisms we were able to control throughout the playthrough. Each one seemed to bring their own unique approach to puzzles and world progress. The controls did a decent job keeping to the same style so that switching between them didn’t also bring problems there.

Visuals

A dark world that is lit up only by the electricity produced by signs, lights, and various cyberpunk type machines brought a great aesthetic to present us with the silent yet violent world. There are some moments that take place outside towards the end which bring a different mood as you get closer to the game’s conclusion, which only aided in seeing the unknown story unfold with everything going on in the background and around you.

Sounds

It’s a very quiet game the majority of the time which was a good touch for mood setting. There were some soft ambiance and the occasional music moment that always seemed very fitting for the game type. Great set up and style choice to match the visuals.

Replayability

Other than going for the other endings, which don’t need you to do much different from the other playthroughs, everything will be the same each playthrough of the game giving it little replayability.

What Could Be Better

Switching up the controls every time there is a body switch, even if slight, seems like something that should be avoided. It was especially bad when going into some of the puzzles where I spent more time trying to understand the controls than solving the actual puzzle. If you don’t explain the controls, you shouldn’t be changing them up.

Some of the puzzles seemed like they were better in theory and a bad choice to include. The one that sticks out the most in this aspect is the pipe connect puzzle that has a short-timer. Every time the timer ends the puzzle shuts off and is reset making the player start from the beginning. Instead of challenging the intellect, like a puzzle is supposed to, it was challenging the reaction time and quick solve skill. It was frustrating for the wrong reason.

Conclusion

7th Sector is a good puzzle game with some interesting choices made in the development process. They did so much right to present a great game, but the issue with controls and just how some of the puzzles are set up made it only a good game. It’s definitely worth checking out if you get the chance, but you might want to wait for a sale on this one.