PAGE 34 GAMBIT something with him . He just floats near you and serves as your only voice to the main villain . I would have loved to see him integrated better to scout new areas , do flight challenges , or even be used as a projectile weapon in some fashion . It doesn ’ t kill the experience but when you see a duo in a 3D platformer you expect them to do something together .
Graphically Skylar & Plux looks pretty good . As with so many Unreal Engine games the game suffers from the occasional pop-in when entering new areas , but it ’ s not all that big a deal . There are some minor issues with your characters never really touching the ground on uneven surfaces and angled planks , but again this seems to be a common problem . And while the game is bright and colorful , the main characters feel a little out of focus and washed out texture wise . It ’ s hard to explain , but both Skylar & Plux don ’ t quite feel to blend into the world as well as they should . This is a problem I ’ ve seen with the Unreal Engine when not making something brown and gritty . And the game on PC suffers from some strange graphical stuttering when loading up a game save for a few seconds , but that could just be me .
Controls are very responsive and playing with an Xbox One controller was a smooth experience . The options menu also has support for some sort of eye-tracking option if you are one of the twelve people that own one of those deceives . But one thing that doesn ’ t really work is the camera and how wild it is . It ’ s overly sensitive so you are going to be spinning it around like crazy far too much . It ’ s such a problem that it actually made me sick with headaches on more than one occasion because of the speed . There doesn ’ t seem to be a way to lower the camera sensitivity and if I would recommend one thing for a future patch , camera control sensitivity would be it .
On the audio front things are just tops . The music fits the overall aesthetic and fits each world very well . It ’ s not something you are going to be singing or snag the soundtrack for , but it works well in building the larger game world . Sound effects also have impact and add to the cartoon nature of the experience . But one thing that doesn ’ t come off as well as I would have liked is the voice acting . It ranges from excellent to merely passable . A lot of this comes from a fairly weak script that tries a bit too hard to be funny for its own good . Plux is a neat character , but he will begin to get on your nerves what all his childish chatter .
Skylar & Plux : Adventure On Clover Island will run you $ 15 on Steam which seems like a steal , but the game only offers up a few hours of play within the games three worlds . In this regard the island really does feel like an island . It took me around 4 hours to complete the game and that ’ s with going back to try and track everything down . If you just played through the game without any extra exploration you can probably beat the whole thing in around 2 hours depedning on your skill level . In a way this isn ’ t an entirely bad thing as it keeps the game nice and tight . Since each world revolves around a certain ability you earn within it , the pace feels just right . Still , I can ’ t help but feeling like another few worlds with a few more arm powers would have done the game wonders .
Skylar & Plux : Adventure On Clover Island isn ’ t a perfect game as it comes with a number of issues , but those problems never really take away from the overall fun of the experience . This is a fantastic first effort in what I hope develops into a full-fledged series that breaks away from the types of 3D platformers it ’ s trying to emulate . I have no issues recommending Skylar & Plux : Adventure On Clover Island to anyone who wants to relieve the past in between another utterly broken AAA release .
- Jorge Luis
PAGE 34
something with him. He just floats near you and
serves as your only voice to the main villain. I
would have loved to see him integrated better to
scout new areas, do flight challenges, or even be
used as a projectile weapon in some fashion. It
doesn’t kill the experience but when you see a
duo in a 3D platformer you expect them to do
something together.
Graphically Skylar & Plux looks pretty good. As
with so many Unreal Engine games the game
suffers from the occasional pop-in when
entering new areas, but it’s not all that big a deal.
There are some minor issues with your
characters never really touching the ground on
uneven surfaces and angled planks, but again
this seems to be a common problem. And while
the game is bright and colorful, the main
characters feel a little out of focus and washed
out texture wise. It’s hard to explain, but both
Skylar & Plux don’t quite feel to blend into the
world as well as they should. This is a problem
I’ve seen with the Unreal Engine when not
making something brown and gritty. And the
game on PC suffers from some strange graphical
stuttering when loading up a game save for a few
seconds, but that could just be me.
Controls are very responsive and playing with
an Xbox One controller was a smooth
experience. The options menu also has support
for some sort of eye-tracking option if you are
one of the twelve people that own one of those
deceives. But one thing that doesn’t really work
is the camera and how wild it is. It’s overly
sensitive so you are going to be spinning it
around like crazy far too much. It’s such a
problem that it actually made me sick with
headaches on more than one occasion because
of the speed. There doesn’t seem to be a way to
lower the camera sensitivity and if I would
recommend one thing for a future patch, camera
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