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Armikrog redefines the word “bizarre” with you as Tommynaught, a man who stores items in his stomach and is accompanied by a dog called Beak-Beak. Pointing and clicking around the environment is the order of the day with each room being a different colour, rather reminding me of the Simpsons’ house. I once saw someone’s house painted that way and while it seemed a cool idea at first, it would probably give me a headache if I lived there. Perhaps in this world, that’s what’s made Tommynaught’s eyes look like dark glasses.
The game is a series of baffling puzzles in a madcap world, but it can also be frustrating when, for example, I came across a room with a green door (and no sign of Shakin’ Stevens). I got my Beak-Beak to sit on the button which opened it, but once I came out of that room and needed to go back in, I had a hell of a time trying to get him simply to go back on the button!
All at the same time, while I found Armikrog to be very inventive, it was also just way too much of a brain-bender and not intuitive at all. I don’t expect a game to hold my hand throughout – some games can feel too much like that – but all too often it just left me in the dark.
I’ve included an example gameplay video below where I solved a particular puzzle early on, but note that of the three symbols I needed, I’ve cut this video down to a later section of my gameplay, such that while you’d normally find these symbols in the order they’re required, here, they’re in reverse order since I wanted to show them all in the same video. Also note that, some cases, the clues can change from game to game, so watching a video online won’t always provide the answers!
That’s probably confused you even more.
Anyhoo, if you like point-and-click with puzzles, then this will be for you. Personally, I loved the claymation graphics and it plays incredibly fluidly on my PC, and there’s a neat score in the background, but beyond that, it’s not really one for me.
Armikrog is out now on PC Steam, OS X and Linux, with PlayStation 4 and Wii U versions TBA. Click on the above image for the full-size version.
Visit my DVDfeverGames Youtube channel for many more gaming videos.
Important info:
- Publisher: Versus Evil
- Players: single player
- HDTV options: up to 1080p
- Sound: DTS 5.1
Producers: Ed Schofield and Lance James
Designers: Mike Dietz, Ed Schofield and Doug TenNapel
Programmers: LoongWei Ding and Pip Robbins
Artists: Andrew Erickson, Bree Paulsen, Cameron Stradling, Derek Roberts, Doug TenNapel, Gregory Leysens and Samantha Cadier
Writers: Doug TenNapel, Mike Dietz and Ed Schofield
Music: Terry Scott Taylor
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GRAPHICS SOUND GAMEPLAY ENJOYMENT |
10 7 7 5 |
| OVERALL | 7 |
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.