Sephonie – Spotlight
Platformers with a strong story focus in 3D are a rare breed. Similar games are either 2D or focused on collecting items. In Sephonie, platforming and world design are combined with visual novel-esque presentation and line matching puzzle gameplay in a really unique experience. While the tale isn’t bad, the visual presentation is clearly out of date. If you’re a fan of challenging 3D platforming, inventive storytelling, and a willingness to break the rules, you’ll love this game. That alone helps the game stand out in a space that isn’t particularly crowded.
All of Sephonie revolves around the three scientists who have travelled to the namesake island to conduct research. Riyou is a Japanese-Taiwanese man; Amy is an American-Taiwanese woman; and Ing-wen is a Taiwanese scientist. All three Taiwanese characters, even though they are part of an international research team, come across as artificial. Thankfully, it’s not in a horrible way. Even still, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that some of the story’s pieces are thrown together carelessly.
Voiceless speech is used to tell Sephonie’s story, utilising colourful and verbose wording. The author’s language abilities are undeniable. Visual novel sections on the other hand, are unwieldy, fragmented, and tedious. The characters are unlikable, but the normal sections are better. They have few distinguishing characteristics, and their dialogue fails to give them distinctive voices. The actors all appear to be in a robotic state. A lot of the content in Sephonie is broken up into large paragraphs that appear on the screen for long periods of time.
Two of the three major characters are homosexuals, making this a gay comedy. It’s also another facet of the game’s narrative that doesn’t avoid contrivances, as previously discussed. Only a few times are we told that Ing-wen is gay in the game, but that seems like a reasonable number of times. We are reminded of Riyou’s sexuality, which makes me feel that sexuality is exploited as a prop in this situation.’ At the conclusion, a fourth significant character is revealed to be gay. “You look queer!” one of the major characters exclaims when she spots him in the crowd. It’s something he then goes on to affirm. It has the feel of being a form of exploitation.
On Sephonie, the island of odd critters, the three leads are dropped off and begin the game. Finally, the three discover a virus that will bring the planet to its knees. As with practically every other occasion Sephonie attempts to say anything, this one was definitely inspired by the Coronavirus pandemic.
The mechanics are explained in a short tutorial. All three characters are interchangeable and have the same controls. There are many ways for them to go about, like as jumping and running along walls. Sprinting makes you feel like you’re gliding across the ice. It works, but I think a more conventional way would have been better. Sprinting can lead to you launching yourself in an unexpected direction, which can be frustrating.
In spite of this, the platforming and controls in general seem great—except for the sprint. This type of game is surprisingly challenging and complex, with new options opening up as you progress. Doing so, on the other hand, necessitates some preparatory work. You can let your researchers to engage with animals while you remain in control of them. For some species, this is not necessary, but for a few, it is essential. New powers can be gained through interacting with these large species, making Sephonie a little Metroid-like.
Platforming across the game’s environments is a pleasure. It’s not difficult to figure out where you’re going thanks to the clear wayfinding. Sephonie can be a puzzle platformer, and there’s a lot to the platforming. Even though I never expected to be so impressed by a 3D story platformer, this one did not disappoint. However, there are certain portions that can be a little overwhelming.
In addition to that, there’s the excellent puzzle gameplay. With each animal encounter, you gain a new piece similar to that of a Tetromino in a puzzle you’re playing. Later in the game, the game becomes extremely difficult, but the difficulty curve is generally fair.
The majority of the puzzles are so simple that I had to wait until the game’s last challenge to figure out how the mechanisms worked. To win, all you have to do is arrange the coloured blocks in a grid in such a way that as many of the same colours as possible are adjacent to one another. As long as you’re able to fill the bar to a particular amount, you won’t lose any of your lives.
Your life will be extinguished if it doesn’t have enough life in it to begin with. Each of the puzzle’s squares has a unique shape and set of challenges that must be conquered. There is still a lot of fun to be had in solving the puzzles, and it’s exciting to find and use new parts. In addition to the main game’s content, beating Sephonie unlocks the episode featuring the game’s fourth character. The final task is so challenging that I had to change the difficulty setting to easy. Although I thought it was superfluous, it still took me more than one attempt.
Depending on how much you explore, the game will take you anywhere from seven to eight hours to complete. Sephonie, on the other hand, is a must-play for any 3D platformer enthusiast. In spite of the fact that the visual novel sections are overlong and the tale is artificial, it’s well worth persevering through them to get to the best parts.
