Contrast (2013)

 PC
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 211 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 120 out of 211
  2. Mixed: 78 out of 211
  3. Negative: 13 out of 211

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  1. MagSun
    Dec 21, 2013
    6
    This game got my attention during a Steam sale.

    It is hard to explain what I like and dislike about this game without spoiling your personal experience exploring this world. It is an interesting combination of the 3D and 2D worlds. The story is very surprising and well embedded into the mysterious world you are about to discover, but at some point you might miss the motivation of your    This game got my attention during a Steam sale.

    It is hard to explain what I like and dislike about this game without spoiling your personal experience exploring this world. It is an interesting combination of the 3D and 2D worlds.
    The story is very surprising and well embedded into the mysterious world you are about to discover, but at some point you might miss the motivation of your character ("Dawn") to follow the little girl "Didi" around and do anything she tells you to, wondering if you end up in some maniac world domination plan okay, scratch that....

    The game is about 4 hours nice, artistic and sometimes innovative gameplay. Controls sometimes feel half-baked, making some puzzles harder than they need to be (like you know what to do but you keep falling of the edge over and over again).

    If it wasn't for the cheaper steam sale, this story had been to short for the regular 15€.    … Expand
  2. typeorange
    Nov 18, 2013
    6
    Worth playing, but flawed. Unfulfilled potential.

    The atmosphere and storyline are the best part of the experience. While the storyline is compelling, it ultimately proves unsatisfying as the game simply ends without really developing some of the really cool aspects of the game world and the characters. The set-up promises much more than the game ultimately delivers The stylized    Worth playing, but flawed. Unfulfilled potential.

    The atmosphere and storyline are the best part of the experience. While the storyline is compelling, it ultimately proves unsatisfying as the game simply ends without really developing some of the really cool aspects of the game world and the characters. The set-up promises much more than the game ultimately delivers

    The stylized graphics are another strong point. The art feels really fresh and interesting. I really wanted to see more of this world. The game has impressive draw distance and feels solid. Framerates are fairly consistent, but do drop occasionally.

    Still, the game suffers from a number of technical glitches. Collision detection is simply not finished in this game. Picking up and dropping boxes proves and inconsistent and frustrating exercise, and shifting in and out of the shadow world often gives unexpected results. Consistent with this, there are a number of game-breaking bugs. I had to deliberately leave the game and restart because obvious bugs made it impossible to continue. It's a testament to how compelling the atmosphere and storyline are that I carried on: I usually do not.

    The puzzles are solid if lacking in variety. I wouldn't say the puzzles were overly challenging, but the game does little to introduce you to certain key concepts relating to the interoperation of the real and shadow worlds that are critical to solving a few of the games later puzzles. While I was interested enough to try a number of things, many folks will feel a little lost and lacking direction at some of the puzzles.

    What's most disappointing about this is what it could have been. If only the story, characters, and world were more fully developed. I can't help but think this game was pushed out the door and not truly finished.

    Since many PS+ players will have the opportunity to play this for free, I'd definitely recommend checking this out.    … Expand
  3. SickRamen
    May 5, 2014
    7
    If you are into Jazz, Contrast is worth playing just for the sake of the soundtrack.

    If the premise of a bluesy, gloomy, artsy, early 1900's Paris atmosphere - which this game reflects brilliantly - doesn't particularly appeal to you, you might want to think twice. Contrast's gameplay is entirely based around blending 2D and 3D. It's a good idea, fits well with the semi-magical    If you are into Jazz, Contrast is worth playing just for the sake of the soundtrack.

    If the premise of a bluesy, gloomy, artsy, early 1900's Paris atmosphere - which this game reflects brilliantly - doesn't particularly appeal to you, you might want to think twice.

    Contrast's gameplay is entirely based around blending 2D and 3D. It's a good idea, fits well with the semi-magical atmosphere, but unfortunately doesn't feel like it's been used to the full potential. The biggest challenges lie in the 2D platformers, whilst the 3D part feels underexploited (and the keyboard controls clunky - this was clearly designed for a controller). The 3D world just serves as an aid to model the 2D world, or as a link to reach the next 2D surface. At some moments, you feel like it's almost there and regret what the game could have become if the 2D and 3D had been made to blend in a bit more crazily.

    Some of the puzzles are brilliant, some of them just about mediocre, but it all ends too soon. The game is extremely short (only 3 levels, count about an hour each). WIth no extra difficulty or challenge, with all collectible lying out in plain sight of the linear path, the replay value relies on just one thing: the really compelling atmosphere, characters, and the excellent voice acting.    … Expand
  4. Perigorn
    Jan 21, 2014
    5
    Interesting concept but is linear and has a large number of display bugs. Lots of "tearing" in the graphics settings with no way to fix them in the video settings. This game plays and feels like a cheap "Kickstarter" game.
  5. Cyrix
    Nov 15, 2013
    7
    Great Game! Few in game bugs. Major problem bad controller support for Logitech F310 in reg Xbox mode.. Lame.

    I personally been waiting for this title since it was up for vote on Steam's Green Light. The game from start to finish pulled me along. I wanted to see what was next. Which I find keeps the game from getting boring. The world was beautiful. Side puzzles were a nice touch.    Great Game! Few in game bugs. Major problem bad controller support for Logitech F310 in reg Xbox mode.. Lame.

    I personally been waiting for this title since it was up for vote on Steam's Green Light. The game from start to finish pulled me along. I wanted to see what was next. Which I find keeps the game from getting boring. The world was beautiful. Side puzzles were a nice touch. Voice acting was great! Music Score was wonderful. With all that said! I did notice couple bugs. One that even caused me to restart from a previous save. Which didn't cause that much time loss. When you figure the time I spent on the game and time I had to deal with bugs. It was very minimal. Major problem I ran into was using my controller. I have a Logitech F310. All the controls were messed up. Movement Keys wouldn't work. Buttons were off by 1. Says hit Y you have to hit B. Hit A you need to hit X. Movement with the joystick forward and back were reversed. Switched the controller to X box mode. Lettered keys worked right but regular movement keys were not working. Only the Joystick controls. Which were working normally. Its disappointing to anyone who plays this game with a controller and not have it to work right. Other steam games I have played that had full controller support worked 100% with this controller. Hopefully they will fix the issue and make this a truly Full Controller support game. Until then I will have to knock off a few points for it. I would be interested in seeing Compulsion Games next Title. Hopefully they take notes and learn from Contrast so not to repeat the problems.    … Expand
  6. iseeall
    Apr 8, 2014
    6
    The game has interesting mechanics of switching between 2D shadow world and 3D real world. Also it's rather atmospheric and has an interesting story. The big downside is the clumsy controls system. The camera moves too fast and the mouse sensitivity can't be adjusted. Also can't set distance of the camera to the character with the mouse wheel. As a result, the whole game process is almostThe game has interesting mechanics of switching between 2D shadow world and 3D real world. Also it's rather atmospheric and has an interesting story. The big downside is the clumsy controls system. The camera moves too fast and the mouse sensitivity can't be adjusted. Also can't set distance of the camera to the character with the mouse wheel. As a result, the whole game process is almost painful. Another big annoyance is that you are constantly interrupted by cutscenes where the control is suddenly taken away from you. Before control is given back, the camera would slowly move back behind the character, then wait a few seconds until the character finally begins responding to mouse movements. Although the mechanics of 2D/3D switches is unique, it gets boring after a while, because other than jumping puzzles this game doesn't really offer anything else except maybe some scripted events and loads of cutscenes. It's certainly worse that Psychonauts which is the closest game to this one. This game was obviously designed for consoles and console gamers might like it, but I don't really. Giving it 6 stars for the unique mechanics and good artistic style.… Expand
  7. PuerNoctis
    Nov 16, 2013
    7
    "Contrast" caught my eye a while back, since I love the ingenuity of most indie developers very much and they mostly focus more on an unique gaming experience than on targeting broader audiences with oversaturated gameplay that is suited for the mass market. The trailers looked very nice and combining a 3D and 2D world using the shadow-shifting mechanic was highly intriguing.

    I bought    "Contrast" caught my eye a while back, since I love the ingenuity of most indie developers very much and they mostly focus more on an unique gaming experience than on targeting broader audiences with oversaturated gameplay that is suited for the mass market. The trailers looked very nice and combining a 3D and 2D world using the shadow-shifting mechanic was highly intriguing.

    I bought the came on release and couldn't wait to play it. The first negative experience I got was actually right after I clicked on "New Game". The player is thrown into the game and gets going immediately, without any kind of introductory cinematic or anything of the like. Usually this can be okay of course, but I felt a lack of "being drawn" into the world and the story.

    Shortly after, one thing became crystal clear: This game was never designed for being played on PC. The game flow is highly linear, there is an unbelievable amount of invisible walls that not only deny the glimpse of feeling of being able to freely explore the level, but are also often hindering you in properly playing the game. You can get easily stuck on the tiniest objects and the collision boxes are sized very generously despite that, you often glitch behind objects when you are not even trying, and the controls themselves are utterly bad. This all is maybe fit for consoles or with any controller for a matter of fact, but not for a keyboard/mouse setup. From a technical perspective I can unterstand that the mixing of the 2D/3D shadow mechanic can be quite challenging, but they probably could have done this way better.

    The game also lacks the swingy/jazzy style of music for the most part that was put into the trailers (sadly) and is only there in certain areas of the game. This gives huge drawbacks to the mood that could have been built up. It's really a shame, because the musical score is actually pretty amazing.

    Despite all this heavy critique I gave so far, I am still giving an "above average" rating. Why? Because Contrast's style and gameplay is very unique. It does make a lot of fun to shift between the three-dimensional world and the shadows, the plattforming is mostly solid and there is some motivation to find all collectibles and other tiny things to discover in the levels.

    I probably would have bumped the rating up by one or even two points if the controls weren't as god-awful and if there were some more background tracks going on, just to complement the overall very excellent setting.

    If you like original platformers, and you don't mind "console"-controls, this money is certainly well spent. If you don't like them, give it a try with a gamepad. If this is also not an option for you, you may want to play it at a friends house or anywhere else you are able to test-play it.    … Expand
  8. BSim500
    Dec 3, 2013
    7
    This is a good game overall. The soundtrack is fantastic. The 3D 2D silhouette switching works well for the most part, and some of the puzzles are good. Graphics art style is excellent and very atmospheric. Voice acting is pretty good and contains some professional actors (Elias Toufexis, Bruce Dinsmore & Vanessa Matsui, etc).

    I would have given it 80-85%, but sadly it gets only 70%    This is a good game overall. The soundtrack is fantastic. The 3D 2D silhouette switching works well for the most part, and some of the puzzles are good. Graphics art style is excellent and very atmospheric. Voice acting is pretty good and contains some professional actors (Elias Toufexis, Bruce Dinsmore & Vanessa Matsui, etc).

    I would have given it 80-85%, but sadly it gets only 70% due to a number of game-breaking bugs (mostly clipping collision detection issues, ie, getting stuck in the floor after jumping down from a height or an object in the wall (especially in some areas of the circus). It's not broken as in "you can't finish it", but expect to reload a few times in one or two areas if you bump into the "wrong" thing. It's a shame as the game has a "fresh" feel to it, is very atmospheric and would have been superb had it been released bug free.    … Expand
  9. Nokya
    Nov 16, 2013
    7
    великолепна.
    Геймплей легкий.
    Очень задание.

    Не интересно.
    Существуют 8.
  10. fishmanPDX
    Nov 17, 2013
    5
    This game is pretty and the concept was ambitious but it failed beyond those two things. Why do I say it failed?? Because after about 30 minutes I really didn't want to play anymore. After noticing the great art direction, the first thing I noticed were the terrible controls. The character moves very fast which results in lots of bumping into, and falling off of things. Not good, andThis game is pretty and the concept was ambitious but it failed beyond those two things. Why do I say it failed?? Because after about 30 minutes I really didn't want to play anymore. After noticing the great art direction, the first thing I noticed were the terrible controls. The character moves very fast which results in lots of bumping into, and falling off of things. Not good, and likely the cause of complaints that the character gets stuck in and to geometry Next was the simplistic repetitiveness of the puzzles. Yawn...I want to play something else. One could say this game had the potential to be a gem but I suppose one could say that about every game. Potential doesn't matter once a game hits the market.
    Contrast is a fail.    … Expand
  11. Thelazyquince
    Nov 27, 2013
    6
    I was browsing through games on Steam, trying to find a game that I would enjoy playing, and I saw Contrast. It really caught my eye, the graphics and all, so I downloaded It. First starting the game I was really excited, first couple of minutes I had a lot of fun, but then the puzzles were getting boring, and old, there wasn't any action in the game. When I first saw the game, I taughtI was browsing through games on Steam, trying to find a game that I would enjoy playing, and I saw Contrast. It really caught my eye, the graphics and all, so I downloaded It. First starting the game I was really excited, first couple of minutes I had a lot of fun, but then the puzzles were getting boring, and old, there wasn't any action in the game. When I first saw the game, I taught that there would be some action and the most important thing, that there would be an awesome story worth following, but nah It was really dumb, maybe just for me, I don't know... All in all, I didn't like the game very much, I only liked the graphics that were unusual and cool, the music and I enjoyed the atmosphere. I would recommend this game to people that like solving boring puzzles.… Expand
  12. Baluberda
    Jun 18, 2016
    7
    An extremely well done story and design for characters, the engine itself falls due impossible long jumps. 2 incredible hours but the gameplay is not that good
  13. Mykwon
    Oct 11, 2014
    5
    Contrast starts on a very clever gaming mechanism but ends up falling short. The story is dull, the characters are botched, the game-play is repetitive and the controls are clunky. The whole game can be 100% completed in one seating of 4 hours.
    That is a pity because the premise of this game, the atmosphere, the era and the soundtrack are top notch. All the ingredients were there to make    Contrast starts on a very clever gaming mechanism but ends up falling short. The story is dull, the characters are botched, the game-play is repetitive and the controls are clunky. The whole game can be 100% completed in one seating of 4 hours.
    That is a pity because the premise of this game, the atmosphere, the era and the soundtrack are top notch. All the ingredients were there to make this game mythical. However, the poor execution ends up ruining the show and the whole thing feels sour in the end.    … Expand
  14. Rem
    Mar 8, 2018
    6
    Contrast more than anything on the market, feels like a passion project. Without the need to cater to a franchise loaded with sequels, the story of a young girl traversing a world of shadows is a fresh spin on the indie scene. It’s lack of polish and competent level design however relegates Contrast to a game enjoyed for its more stylistic features than its mechanical.

    The plot of    Contrast more than anything on the market, feels like a passion project. Without the need to cater to a franchise loaded with sequels, the story of a young girl traversing a world of shadows is a fresh spin on the indie scene. It’s lack of polish and competent level design however relegates Contrast to a game enjoyed for its more stylistic features than its mechanical.

    The plot of Contrast revolves around the journey of Didi, a young girl engulfed in the struggles of her family and her persistence to put them back together. Along the way she is aided by the silent protagonist Dawn, an elegant and slender female acrobat who has the ability to leap into shadows. The story is a treat and while not something to remember for a long time, is engrossing and tells a deeply poignant tale about family. The perspective of Didi highlights the innocence, wonder, and fear of the cabaret-noir inspired setting through a child’s eye. Unfortunately, despite being full of character and film noir inspiration, Contrast ends up asking a whole lot more questions than it answers, especially towards the end of the story. Near the end of the last act, the focus turns from Didi’s plight to concepts about Dawn and the shadow world. The questions are intriguing ones, but aside from some hints introduced in collectible items, they feel more than a little undercooked. Thankfully the game is brief, but it never feels incomplete. Besides from trying to delve too deep in the realm of science, Contrast tells an engaging story befitting to its setting.

    While the story reflects a level of quality and competence expected from a passion project, the gameplay doesn’t fulfill its potential and creativity of the setting. You go about Contrast constantly shifting between the real 3D realm and the 2D shadow plane, all with the press of a button. The execution is unsound at best when switching between the two realities, often resulting in my death or a missed platform jump. The platforming at best is unintuitive and often janky to control. Additionally, you’d expect the puzzles to be of a reasonable quality given the concept, but most don’t offer any challenge whatsoever and most are completed as a result of trial and error. They’re okay at best, in which you navigate the real world by manipulating light sources and objects to provide Dawn a landscape to solve puzzles in the shadow world. While the aforementioned basics are introduced early, advanced puzzle-solving tactics, like taking objects with you into the shadow realm, don't appear until later on. Most of the early puzzles are simply droll and require fighting the controls more than requiring actual thought. The open area design also falls short of its potential as most levels, while visually remarkable, don’t translate well into gameplay. Most areas in the game are devoid of anything and often times I found myself praying for something to distract me along the way to my next objective.

    Whatever downfalls in gameplay Contrast might have, it makes up for in its unique style. The world and the way everything seems to be falling apart provides an ethereal sense of childlike wonder to the game’s levels. Coupled with the clever use of minimalist shadows, Dawn and Didi’s short journey never got visually stale. The music and effects, while sparse at times when exploring, provides a quality ambiance and doesn’t overwhelm. The voice actors however are of the excellent variety and lend a hand in making me care for the characters of Contrast be they a washed-out, hopeful father or a distressed, single-mother all without a facial expression to show.

    As it stands, Contrast is simply a shadow of what it should be; the ideas are there, but the unsound execution hurts the immersion of such a thrilling world. Despite this, it doesn’t take away that Contrast is a unique game deserving of your time if you’re looking for a promising premise and a lovely story centered on family.    … Expand
  15. Leda21
    Feb 19, 2016
    7
    Contrast has an engaging history (that became even more as one collects secrets), with a quite good ambiance and amazing "bluesy-jazzy" background soundtrack. The puzzle proposal is amazing (following TLoZ A Link Between two Worlds style) and really expandable. The characters are captivating as you follow the history and the dubbing is well done.
    There are almost no bugs, but some    Contrast has an engaging history (that became even more as one collects secrets), with a quite good ambiance and amazing "bluesy-jazzy" background soundtrack. The puzzle proposal is amazing (following TLoZ A Link Between two Worlds style) and really expandable. The characters are captivating as you follow the history and the dubbing is well done.
    There are almost no bugs, but some problems in level design (like unexpected/unwanted collisions with some objects), but nothing that ruins the experience; the graphics of the shadows (mostly when one have cutscenes) is really lazy, considering the graphics "outside" the shadows.

    However the biggest problem with the game is that is EXTREMELY short. Five to six hours of run with no multiplayer option is really short. The puzzles are extremely easy (with you played any Portal or Zelda, you will pass these puzzles with the hand behind your back) and the mechanic (of going inside the wall) is, from far, not explored as it was supposed to be.

    Besides some problems the game itself is really good. The music ambiance and the history, as well as the proposal of the puzzle make it really nice to have in your library. Some more 6 months of level design though would have made this an 8/10 to 10/10 game.    … Expand
  16. Animus_V0x
    Jun 23, 2022
    5
    I was mostly really disappointed with the shortness of the game. We're literally talking about a 4 hours game-play... And there was nothing that really stand out except maybe the poetic atmosphere and an original game-play between shadow and light...

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
62

Mixed or average reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 24
  3. Negative: 1 out of 24
  1. PC Gamer
    Dec 31, 2013
    52
    Still, even with the most charming narrative, the clumsy and ultimately banal action leaves Contrast whistling in the dark. [Feb 2014, p.74]
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Dec 28, 2013
    60
    Simple, yet poetic game of shadows and light, which would benefit from a little more polish, so it wouldn’t grate on its players’ nerves. [Issue#237]
  3. Eurogamer Portugal
    Dec 12, 2013
    60
    A different experience, not memorable, but it manages to hold our attention until the end. It’s worth it for its noir aesthetic, combined with a cabaret soundtrack and a clever mix of patterns of play, both in 2D, 3D alternation, as the variation between moments of platforms, and those in which we are put to mental test.
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