Winner
of this year's Atari Bit Byte User Club's Software Contest by a
considerable margin, Ridiculous Reality is a 2D platformer homebrew
title developed for the 8-bit Atari XL / XE. The work of Developers
Martin Šimeček, Adam Wachowski, Michał Radecki and Adam Powroznik,
the game is based on the concept seen in the 2010 Flash game,
Continuity. But where that game had extremely sparse graphics that
were little more than basic black & white backgrounds and a stick
man protagonist, Ridculous Reality is chock full of 8-bit charm and
character. It
is easy to see why it took home the gold as it is something really
quite special.
The
premise of the game is that each stage is split into multiple cells.
Your character can move into adjacent cells, but
only if a pathway between the two is created by moving them next to
one another. If they do not match then you are blocked by the edge
and cannot proceed. Cells are moved around by the player in the
manner of those sliding puzzle games that I am sure you played as a
child. Simply hold down the fire button and use the d-pad (or keys)
to move them around. The main objective here is to collect all the
keys dotted around the landscape, which in turn, opens the exit door.
There are no enemies to avoid, nor a time limit to pressurise you or
lives that can run out. Failure can come in the form of falling down
a hole that doesn't have a matching segment beneath it, but this
simply resets you back to your last collected key. These factors do
not make the game easy to complete as the challenge lies in the
constant shuffling of segments to reach new areas, a task that gets
extremely tricky later on. Early levels only have four segments and
fairly simple layouts, but as you progress the stages contain more
segments and become increasingly maze like and fiendish to navigate.
The lack of a time limit is excellent as it gives you the freedom to
take your time, and plan your strategy for acquiring the keys. It is
extremely engaging and you will be scratching your head at the
puzzles on offer, though due to the game's excellent design you will
never be frustrated.
With
this being an Atari 8-bit home computer game the visuals are very old
school, though it doesn't stop them being utterly charming and
pleasing to the eye. Everything is nicely detailed for such tiny
sprites, and the main character is well animated. The stages are
colourful, and full of small details that bring life to them. The
music is also excellent, with the catchy chiptune melodies getting
stuck in your head and will have you tapping your foot along to them.
Both the backgrounds and music change every few stages too, keeping
repetition at bay and keeping the player on his or her toes. One
minute you are running through a futuristic lab, the next a graveyard
straight out of Ghosts 'N Goblins, and then a sun drenched desert
complete with cacti.
The
gameplay is challenging, immersive and, most importantly, fun. You
will soon be addicted as the game has a strong 'one more level' feel
that makes it hard to stop playing. It is an impressive achievement
that all this can be played on an unexpanded Atari 8-bit machine, and
for those of you who own one you will be delighted to hear that a
deluxe edition will be released worldwide on cartridge soon. For the
rest of us there is emulation. I found both Altirra or Atari800Win to
be excellent methods of playing the game, though Atari800Win steals
first place as it has (admittedly buggy) save states. Without saves
the game will takes roughly three hours to finish, so make sure you
set some time aside as once you enter this Ridiculous Reality you
will find it a hard place to leave.
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The
Good:
- Wonderful 8-bit graphics
- Catchy chiptune soundtrack
- Fun & addictive gameplay
- Absorbing and challenging puzzles
- Free
The
Bad:
- Atari users cannot save during the game
