Review - Quantum Conundrum (PC)

Quantum Conundrum is a puzzle platformer set in first person view in which you play the nephew of a brilliant but eccentric professor.  He's managed to trap himself on this visit and it's up to you to turn on the generators in the mansion to unlock him.  He'll provide you with some tips along the way, but it's up to you to figure out how to get past the puzzles he's rigged in his own house.  (Don't ask)

The Dimensions:

Fluffy: The first dimension the game unlocks to you, the fluffy dimension makes everything 10 times lighter than normal.  Your character is that of a 10 year old, and short for your age at that.  Normally, you'd only be able to carry empty cardboard boxes and books, but with the fluffy dimension, you're able to carry couches and safes like a champ.

Heavy: This second dimension is unlocked shortly after Fluffy and mixing the two is essential to clearing through the first wing of the manor.  The Heavy dimension is basically the opposite of the Fluffy dimension, causing objects to weigh 10 times more than they normally do.

Slow: The third dimension unlocked slows down time, if you couldn't have guessed.  This is where the trickier parts of the game starts to emerge, as your reflexes matter more than your puzzle solving abilities on certain stages.  The game still manages to incorporate Slow well into the puzzles, and some of the most memorable gameplay moments occur due to the game's well thought out use of slow.  Outrunning lasers and jumping on a safe that you just threw to sail over an abyss is actually immensely rewarding, if not mostly due to the fact that you will fail, a lot.

Gravity: The last dimension to be unlocked reverses gravity, causing everything in the room to fall towards the ceiling.  If you thought the platforming was frustrating when the game introduced slow, just wait until you unlock gravity.  You'll be forced to use falling safes as elevators, having to switch quickly between dimensions with each jump.  Mistiming the switch or messing up your landing means you have to start back at the beginning, and these sequences aren't exactly short, requiring you to land multiple perfect jumps to clear.

The Puzzles:

The puzzles are simply fantastic.  They're well thought out and require you to really analyze what's in each room and how to use the different dimensions properly in order to pass to the next area.  They start off really simple, introducing you to each dimension by itself, before tossing you into a situation where you have to learn how to use multiple dimensions to solve.  The pacing of the puzzles is great, and they never feel cheap or unfair.  Every time you get stumped, when you finally realize just how to proceed, the solutions are always logical, and you'll have plenty of 'A-Ha!' moments.

The Platforming:

The game starts you off with simple jumping puzzles, jumping from block to block.  The platforming actually seems fun at first, but once you start mixing in the slow and gravity dimensions, the shit hits the fan.  Platforming takes up a bigger chunk of the latter part of the game, and the sequences have very little room for error and are frustrating at best.  I actually had to stop playing the game twice because I died something like 20 times just trying to get past a particular platforming section.  I'd imagine that most players who don't complete Quantum Conundrum will have similar opinions regarding the platforming.  First of all, platforming in first person view is difficult enough as it is, but when you mix in having to switch perfectly from one dimension to the next, while trying to hopscotch your way through across falling safes while avoiding lasers and other such obstacles, it makes you want to tear your hair out.

Overview:

Overall, Quantum Conundrum is a great little puzzler despite its frustrating platforming elements.  It makes use of the different dimensions very well and the quirkiness of the uncle makes for a light hearted and fun playthrough.  I'd recommend people at least try the game for the puzzles, since they really are great.  You do need a good amount of patience and skill at platformers in order to make it all the way through the game, but that's the only negative, though a fairly significant one, about this game in my opinion.

Final Score: 7.5/10