Difficulty:

Hard

Time Spent:

10 Hours or Less

The Bottom Line:

"Innovative"

Positive
+ Creative, original and entertaining gameplay
+ Pleasant visuals and soundtrack

Negative
- May be a bit difficult to get used

Waveform (the videogame) is a highly original concept, even in the indie genre. Unlike anything you have possibly played, you will control a wave of light in your mission towards the sun. Strange? Yes. Unusual? Yes. Fun? Definitely. Waveform is a fun and challenging game for those wanting something other than what they consider more of the same.

As a wave of light, your mission is to reach the sun and by passing from Pluto till there. There is no actual storytelling, except that the vague story is told through dialogue after finishing each level. The selling point is how entertaining it is. You control a wave of light, and by holding the left mouse button and moving in all directions, you can adjust the wave's amplitude and wavelength in order to hit lines of photons which serve as points. A degree of accuracy will be needed and the learning curve may feel a bit steep, despite the instructions being simple. I mean, you may occasionally forget which way to move the mouse in order to change the wavelength or amplitude. Photons are not the only objects that you will encounter. Expect ton of a dark matter that will hamper your progress, hit multiplier to increase your score and hit mirrors to reflect your wave into new directions.

There is no actual game over. Finishing a level with minimal photons collected still allows you to move on, but you will not earn enough stars, but are obtained depending on your percentage in that level. With enough stars, and all levels on that planet finished, you move to a new planet, and more obstacles will be present in levels. Although, hitting too much dark matter in levels forces you to restart from the last checkpoint and it is difficult to get accurate when numerous dark matter approaches in your direction, with little gaps to pass through. This is a very challenging game that will require patience by the time you finish the first two planets.

Waveform is a pretty game, no doubt. The space looks wonderful, and there are vibrant colors and effects everywhere on screen. Plus, it is quite a small game so it has extremely low requirements, but still it looks great. There is a good but very generic soundtrack in place, but serves the game's theme.

A great, money worth purchase off Steam. Waveform is an intelligent and highly creative indie game that should not be missed.