Pretty lights? Instant 9.5.
The Polynomial is a nifty little independently developed PC game that takes in music tracks and outputs pretty lights. The player flies around these pretty lights in a basic, yet functional, first person space simulation that reeks of Freespace 2 if it were developed by someone who didn't like their keyboard very much. Depending on your difficulty setting, there can be several, a flock, or even an army of enemies known as Omnomnoms, which look like a crossbreed between Pacman and Chain Chomps, which I'm quite sure has made a fan fiction writer somewhere very happy. You shoot the enemies and more pretty lights appear.
I'm not going to lie; this game is not complicated nor is it deep. The actual action is easy to master and high scores are easily obtainable; the enemies pose little threat and the only consequence to death is a bizarre "your TV output is about to die" effect followed by a reset of your score. What makes the game entertaining is that it's ungodly beautiful and never ceases to amaze even the most jaded graphics snob. The twinkling dots will swirl and wave to the chosen music, throwing shimmering sound-scapes across your monitor. Comets enter off-stage and break apart with grace, cluttering the stage when the music is intense. Ghosts, who heal your ship when the going gets tough, are odd manta-ray like creatures that are also made up of tiny dots if you get close enough to see their make-up, and the sun in the center of the level pulsates to the beat and swivels about in time with the sounds.
The game comes with a handful of OGG Vorbis encoded twinkly electronic pieces of ambiance, but the real charm of the game is plugging in some of your own choice cuts. Unlike Audiosurf, which was dreadfully boring when the music didn't have a percussion backbone, The Polynomial works well with nearly any genre and can offer a soaring visualization of nearly any song you throw at it, which is a testament of the hard work the developers must have put into their game. Epic classical music gives just as much of an effect as bone-breaking bass n' drum. Like the best swirling images that come with the mass media players of this day and age, The Polynomial's appeal is its adaptability.
As with any tool of beauty and amazement, the game's lasting appeal is only as long as your interest in the topic. If waves of fractals comprised of stars bobbing to your favorite song doesn't really sound like a great time, the minor gameplay involving the silly enemies won't convince you. This is not a game about skill. It's a game about seeing new worlds and sights you have never beheld, and probably won't ever see again. It's a game about connecting to music you already love, and understanding it more than headphones alone would ever offer. It's a game about pretty lights.
Just close your eyes and maybe you'll see it too.