Whilst I could start blathering on again about how we have to rely on indie developers to come up with original ideas, I won’t. I just want to celebrate games like Contrast and plead for more where that came from.
Contrast is, in essence, a 3rd person platformer, but there’s much more to it than that. Set in a film noir inspired world you play the role of Dawn, the imaginary friend of a young girl named Didi. The game world exists entirely within Didi’s mind and plays around with memories that may not make much sense to her at such a tender age.
Didi’s focus is set squarely upon her mother and the ham-fisted men in her life. However, her mother and the various characters in the game exist entirely in the shadows. Scenes and conversations are played out on floodlit walls and serve to carry the story along.
One of the benefits of being an imaginary friend is your ability to move in and out of the shadow world at will. This allows you to scale physical-world obstacles by entering the shadow world, as long as the lights are on your side.
Graphics & Sound
The art style of Contrast is quite beautiful. It’s a stylised, Bioshock-like 50’s world full of dilapidated architecture bathed in streetlights and neon.
Characters living in shadows are exaggerated stereotypes, not unlike those you’d have seen in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Didi’s mum is inordinately well endowed (Jessica Rabbit…) and speaks with a slight New York twang. The men can be found wearing Fedora’s and the sort of Italian American accents you’d expect from a mob-themed tale.
The ambient sounds; the subtle background music; the characters and the artistic direction make for a game packed with atmosphere and intrigue. You may not see any non-player characters walking around, but you can feel their presence (even if you are just in someone’s head…).
Gameplay
Contrast plays like many other third-person platform puzzlers, but with one slight difference. Pressing R2 next to a brightly lit wall will make Diane shift into it, becoming a shadow who can interact with other shadows.
Whilst in shadow form, other shadows become solid objects. You can walk on horizontal shadows and even climb upon characters while they go through their scripted actions. It’s in using and manipulating light and shadow where much of the challenge of Contrast can be found.
Some of the puzzles I found to be genuinely mystifying and on a number of occasions I had to consult the internet for a quick hint. One or two puzzles seem to rely on the player taking advantage of glitches. Thankfully these are relatively infrequent and progressing through the game is otherwise genuinely engaging.
Thoughts
Apart from a few engine-related issues, Contrast only really has one major problem. It just isn’t long enough. The game is sadly over very, very quickly and you’ll be done in little more than a couple of hours. Just as you start to get into the story and begin to care about Didi, the credits roll.
Of course, it’s probably a good thing in a way that Contrast made me feel like that. Far too many games these days are lengthened by needless padding despite lacking a story strong enough to sustain it. Contrast is excellent from start to finish, but it leaves you wanting so much more.
Looking at other reviews and comments, I may be a bit of an anomaly. Contrast is a game that appears to have polarised people. Some hate it, others like me, can’t get enough.
More, please! 
(8.5 / 10)
This article was originally posted on Techbeast.net
1C5C6dNAj9vtzqevGnyGKHtvbpLNGKxfci
The post Contrast – PS4 appeared first on Techbeast Games.
