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Light Your Own Path in 'Closure,' An Indie Game That'd Make 'Braid' Proud

by Ben Deitz on November 5, 2010 at 06:10 PM

Closure
No, your monitor isn't broken. While this week's crop of games have been drained of color, they're just as ingenious as their more vibrant brethren. Inspired by doodles, noir cinema and silent films, this batch's stark graphics present curious mechanics and clever adventures. Their addictiveness is as simple as black and white.

One of the things we love about indie games is that their designers can let loose and experiment with innovative gameplay mechanics without being subjects to stuffy investor-types. Using an ingenious lighting element, 'Closure' is a perfect example of a fun, inventive (and slightly haunting) way to rethink platform puzzles. The interplay between light and shadow is the point: in order to maneuver through each level, you must shine a light on your path at all time -- anything still in the dark will send your ghostly guy plummeting to his death. (Pro tip: take a cue from horror film ingenues, and refrain from heedlessly diving into the blackness.)

To solve each light-based quandary and find the way out, use the arrow keys and employ illuminating orbs to guide your tour de noir. The orbs are meant to be carried along, lantern-style, or placed on pedestals to permanently light specific areas. As long as you stay on solid, well-lit ground (which often requires running to keep up with your spotlight-like haven), you're golden, and sometimes the negative space lets your dude jump through once-forbidden walls (the brighter a surface, the less permeable). These quirky qualities make for a terrifically atmospheric challenge, proving that bright ideas don't need big budgets.

Closure


Tags: closure, flashgames, games on the go, GamesOnTheGo, gaming, TimeWaster, top, video games, VideoGames

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