FRACTER

FRACTER is an isometric, light-based puzzle game that also requires some stealth to avoid instant death by patrolling shades. It sets a mysterious mood with its grayscale color scheme and minimal lighting within overwhelming darkness: the only sources of light are relevant puzzle elements and a small wisp hovering above you. This provides just enough visibility to keep you on edge when sneaking around shades, who will get down on all fours and charge like rabid dogs if they see you, killing you instantly and respawning you at the last checkpoint unless you manage to first destroy them with light. Including this element of tension was the right decision over puzzles alone, and likely saved FRACTER from being forgettable like so many other bite-sized puzzle games. Level and puzzle design are solid and eventually challenging enough; they predominantly consist of directing pillars of light from their sources to target receptacles—essentially laser puzzles—but also include pushing cub...

At first glance I thought it was going to be a charming puzzle game because I like puzzle games and I enjoy playing them very much. But after 4 levels or so I noticed a common trend where you're just solving endless pointless puzzles and getting attacked by creepy crawlies. I was hoping the game would have a story-isk charm to it but it didn't. You also can't save up to where you played so if you actually messed up (like I did) you had to start the whole god damn level again. I was looking for a story driven meaningful puzzle but all i got was repetitive game play. Here's my game play until I gave up: 00:00 - 2:55:00 Fracter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXnTNgROrJg my rant starts at 2:49:00 - 2:55:00

A full playthrough runs a bit on the short side but the presentation is bold with lots of atmosphere, puzzles are simple but fun enough to hold interest, a minimalist take on story telling and the controls are easy to use. Overall a quality port and good experience for the price of entry.

[b]FRACTER[/b] is a [b]little atmospheric [i]puzzler[/i][/b], set in a [b]ghost-like, colorless world[/b], that utilizes [b]dynamic lighting[/b] as a thematic medium to explore the [b]idea of the [i]self[/i][/b] - albeit said premise [i]might[/i] be lost amidst [b][i]unnecessarily[/i] obscure wording[/b]. Coincidentally, all [b]puzzles[/b] intently play into this design choice, with most of them being realized by [b]light-emitting devices[/b]; unfortunately, although they evolve [i]slightly[/i] as you clear out levels, most are [b][i]too[/i] plain[/b] to incite a challenge. [b]FRACTER[/b]’s major slip, however, is the [b]implementation of sections in which stealth is required[/b], which prompts a [b]stark disconnection[/b] from the rest of the gameplay, and is only worsened by the [b]character’s lousy movement[/b]. And so, stripped off its [b]light-and-shadow aesthetic[/b] and its [b]thematic execution[/b], [b]FRACTER[/b] as a [i]puzzler[/i] is sadly [i]meh[/i].

the game is very glitchy. get ready to restart some levels several times

Amazing game. Made flawlessly and is really symbolic of the human mind

Creepy but not scary! Fracter is the right level of challenging, without being frustrating. It is the best kind of weird, and reminded me a fair bit of Limbo (which kicks ass as much as this does).

FRACTER === 8/10 !!!!! ;) :) :) :D

Sometimes looks can be deceiving. Not this time, though. What you see here is pretty much what you get: a simple little game with ok puzzles and a great aesthetic. The puzzles are mostly of the move-platforms-to-create-paths and reflect-light-beams-with-mirrors varieties. Once in a while you push a block around or evade a monster. So not exactly revolutionary, to say the least. As for the looks, it's hard to miss with black and white, huh? A zillion film students can't be wrong. To the extent that artsy monochrome has become a cliche, it's because it works. It lets you play around with light and shadow in an elemental way that creates a dramatic impact all on its own. Familiar things suddenly stand out in sharper relief, and the commonplace takes on an otherworldly aspect that catches your eye in fresh ways. This style leads you to believe they're saying something deep here, and you do get the sense that they want us to look beneath the surface. In fact, they pretty m...

Love the aesthetic and puzzles.