Typoman Revised
Genre: Adventure, Indie
Developer: Brainseed Factory
Publisher: Brainseed Factory
Available on Steam, PS4, Xbox One
Over the past year I have had the opportunity to take a look at quite a few products coming out of the indie game development scene. While there is a glut of the good old standards available, I have been thoroughly impressed by the originality that has infused itself into Typoman.
Typoman adds its own puzzle-solving twist to the side-scrolling standard we have all grown to know and adore. The journey begins with our little hero, Typoman, being dropped into what seems to be a post-apocalyptic landscape.
There are small puzzles to be solved, and commands through the organization and re-organization of letters in the stage that you occupy. These determine the intensity and method of interactions available to the main character, who is also a jumble of letters that are emphasized in the introduction to the game. Various elements are introduced as a combination of the letters composing their names, structural elements of what they are, and in turn, how to interact with your environment.
(Wait – what I say defines the world around me? Whaaaat?)
One might need to simply stack a few letters on top of each other to jump up over them and clear an obstacle. Some words unrelated to interaction with the environment might be spelled out as well. These words that you manage to find and create are kept in a dictionary of sorts that pops up, granting a record of the lexicon that you have managed to generate from the letters that have been provided. How large can your make your vocabulary?
From a perspective of linguistics, YAY! Games AND words? Sign me up! However, you might want to be a little careful with the formation of some words. As in reality, there is no limitation to or censorship provided for the vast array of phrasing that can be conveyed and recorded in a restricted number of letters…
Which is but a small part of the reason I am having so much fun in this typographical landscape. Can you find your muse and expand the collection of compiled letters?
I thoroughly enjoyed what I have been able to play of this little gem so far, and look forward to my completion of it. I applaud the developers for entertaining a somewhat jaded little ol’ me.
Tentacles raised to the skies: 9/10
Count them as they writhe about.