Semispheres Review – Split-screen Stealth Puzzles

<p>After an intense session of the new&comma; fast-paced shooter&comma; <em>Crash Force&comma;<&sol;em> the game <em>Semispheres<&sol;em> was a welcome calm&period; The two games couldn&&num;8217&semi;t be more different&period; One is loud&comma; energetic&comma; and explosive&period; The other is quiet&comma; meditative&comma; and controlled&period; I only own a few games that have this calming effect&comma; and I believe that they help to round out my collection&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Vivid Helix generally creates development tools&comma; so a puzzle game like <em>Semispheres<&sol;em> is not too far from the norm&period; It&&num;8217&semi;s about using the few resources you have to solve sometimes complex puzzles&period; A single map split into two nearly identical pieces to create each level&period; It&&num;8217&semi;s a single-player game&comma; but you control two characters at the same time&period; The left controller joystick moves a yellow character around the left side of the screen&comma; and the right joystick moves a blue character around the right&period; Players of <em>Brothers&colon; A Tale of Two Sons<&sol;em> might recognize this movement mechanic&period; It seems simple in theory&comma; but it&&num;8217&semi;s actually quite tricky&period; I found it required a good amount of focus to get my brain to move each character as I wanted him to move&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;127414" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-127414" style&equals;"width&colon; 960px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><img class&equals;"wp-image-127414" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;bagogames&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2017&sol;07&sol;14232126&sol;screenshot72&period;png" alt&equals;"Semispheres&comma; Vivid Helix" width&equals;"960" height&equals;"540" &sol;><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-127414" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Semispheres&comma; Vivid Helix<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>Your mission in each level is to move both of the characters to their corresponding end goal circles&period; Most levels include sentries who will send the characters back to their starting positions if they are spotted&period; Because of this&comma; stealth and cleverness are utterly important&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Each character can pick up one-time-use actions to help along the way&period; Sometimes&comma; these actions create noise to draw sentries away from an area&period; Other actions allow for the teleportation of beings across the map divide&period; My personal favorite action opens up a window between the maps&period; The window is in the exact same spot on each map&comma; however&comma; neither character can use it to teleport to the opposite side&period; Instead&comma; it&&num;8217&semi;s used to distract or teleport sentries from the other map&period; I could hardly wrap my mind around this concept in some of the levels&period; I felt my brainwaves become audible as I mumbled&comma; &&num;8220&semi;How do I even&&num;8230&semi;&quest;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The calming effect of the bichromatic color scheme dividing the two halves of the screen is something worth experiencing&period; Combined with the soothing soundtrack&comma; the art style helped to complete the immersive&comma; tranquil experience&period; I would buy Sid Barnhoorn&&num;8217&semi;s score and listen to it while relaxing&period; Luckily&comma; it&&num;8217&semi;s available as DLC&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;127430" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-127430" style&equals;"width&colon; 960px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><img class&equals;"wp-image-127430" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;bagogames&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2017&sol;07&sol;17094529&sol;screenshot52&period;png" alt&equals;"Semispheres&comma; Vivid Helix" width&equals;"960" height&equals;"540" &sol;><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-127430" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Semispheres&comma; Vivid Helix<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>There are more than 50 total puzzles&period; They start out simple but become increasingly difficult as the abilities and concepts begin to layer&period; The game length is appropriate for the price&comma; although&comma; there isn&&num;8217&semi;t much replay value&period; Once you complete each level&comma; there&&num;8217&semi;s really no incentive to go back and play through it again&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>If you&&num;8217&semi;re a fan of puzzle games&comma; or just want to try something different&comma; <em>Semispheres<&sol;em> is a great place to start&period; It&&num;8217&semi;ll melt your brain as you try to move two characters and solve two puzzles at the same time&period; The one-time-use actions are a clever addition to an already-challenging experience&period; You can pick it up on <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;store&period;steampowered&period;com&sol;app&sol;448800&sol;Semispheres&sol;">Steam<&sol;a> and PS4 now&comma; with an Xbox One release expected soon&period; Unlike the majority of digital indie games&comma; you can even purchase a limited-edition physical copy of the game to add to your collection&period; Copies can be tracked down on the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;twitter&period;com&sol;VividHelix">developer&&num;8217&semi;s Twitter page<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; center&semi;"><strong>A PC review copy of <em>Semispheres<&sol;em> was provided by Vivid Helix for the purpose of this review<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;