Magrunner: Dark Pulse

Portal versus Lovecraft? Sounds intriguing. Unfortuntaly subtle horror is not Magrunner’s strength. But the puzzle and leveldesign is solid enough to entertain.

There is some "good fun" within Magrunner, that kind that only a puzzle game can give.

Portal's influence is on evidence at every turn, but Magrunner still retains quite a bit of individuality, enough at least, to not come off as another clone. Still, the certain something is missing from this, which I found mainly to be down to the game not playing the horror card more decisively.

Magrunner: Dark Pulse may be a modest game, but it's a nice game nevertheless. In spite of a story which doesn't really matter and a "Chtulhu touch" underused, Magrunner does well with his gameplay and it's enough to give us some good moments. And forgive the weakness of the last part of the game.

Starting from the interesting idea of creating a Portal clone set in the future, with some elements taken from H.P. Lovercraft, Magrunner ends up as a funny game but nothing more. A good chance to create something different, only partially accomplished.

A solid game, but one that feels like a testbed for something much better - once the designers have the guts to fully chart a new path instead of relying on tried and Aperture Science-tested concepts we’ve all already seen played out.

As it is, there are too many frustrations, and I didn’t feel compelled to keep playing on the merit of the puzzles alone. You will get a lot of hours out of it for your money though, along with an engaging storyline.

Magrunner: Dark Pulse is a good puzzle game with a strange plot which catapult the player in the world of Cthulhu. It seems an episode of South Park.

Never-quite-stellar puzzling fare punctured by erratic physics and makework. The scenery is nice, though.

Yet another game inspired by Portal. Magrunner looks stunning, but there is not an ounce of what made Portal so fun.

What it does differently, it squanders, like the psychological horror aspects that devolve into indifference and annoyance. Even Cthulhu is rendered an inert set piece. The game looks gorgeous. Sometimes the puzzles are great. Sometimes the atmosphere is impressive. Unfortunately, Magrunner fails to live up to the sum of its best parts.

Thematically undercooked, but this clever puzzler does feature progressively exciting level design. [Oct 2013, p.85]

Ultimately though, what makes Magrunner a mediocre experience is that it feels padded. Halfway through the game, the magnetism mechanics stop being entertaining, but there’s still half a story to tell.

There’s no shame in derivation, and Magrunner applies its Portal-like mag-glove idea with confidence. A worthwhile, if unoriginal, addition to the first-person puzzle genre.

Magrunnner’s story is confidently told, and it’s a welcome point of divergence in a game that’s too in thrall to the title that popularised this genre. The Mag Glove’s no less capable of sustaining a game than the Portal Gun – it’s quite possibly better suited to experimental, player-authored solutions. But it needs its own game, not just to be inserted into the framework of another.