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Iris.Fall is… a very weird puzzle game, which felt similar to Deadlight: Director’s Cut, as well as This War Of Mine, as in those, you’re walking along a single plane, although with this, you can walk all around the room, but the connection is that for parts of certain rooms, you must switch from looking human, to looking like a silhouette on the wall – in what the game simply cites the difference as “light and dark”.
Those puzzle elements mean you must often be doing both in the same room if you want to get to the next one.
That does make Iris.Fall sound crazy-complicated, but it’s not as bad as that and, generally, just needs a bit of logic thinking to be applied… sometimes, a LOT of logic thinking.
Note that at the time of posting this review, it’ll be accompanied by trailers, but once I have footage from the game, too, I’ll add that in.
Some puzzles can often be frustrating at first, but stick with them, and along with a bit of trial and error, you will succeed. On occasion, I just had to put it down for an hour and come back to it later, and look at it again with fresh eyes. Some felt easier than others, or it could just be that some things *click* into place more easily – no pun intended, given how you have to shift dials round?
If you’ve played the puzzle in Little Big Planet on the Sony PSP which is based around eggs (Eggstraction – see below), then this title is like a whole slew of bizarre puzzles to keep you awake at night.
Overall, Iris.Fall is like a Steampunk and Gothic version of ’80s TV show The Adventure Game… in black and white, and with some stunning animation that flows beautifully not only between scenes, but also between sections within a scene. Add to that, a haunting piano-based soundtrack which will be tinkling away in the background of your mind long after you’ve completed and exited the game.
Since it’s so difficult to describe, it’s probably best you just check out my gameplay footage, above, although note that as it shows the solutions to the puzzles, I class it as spoilers!
It’s also fantastic value as you’ll get several hours gameplay for around £10, since while the standard Steam price is £11.39 (or $14.99 in the US), it’s currently 20% off at £9.11 until December 20th.
Score: 8/10
Iris.Fall is out now on PC/Steam.
Important info:
- Developer: NEXT Studios
- Publisher: NEXT Studios
- Players: single-player
- Subtitles: English
Iris.Fall – Launch Trailer – NEXT Studios
Little Big Planet Level 2: The Orient: Part 5: Eggstraction – Sony PSP – DVDfeverGames
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.