Dyad

Dyad calls to mind the pure sense of wonder that would take over when I was six years old and playing Nintendo games in front of a little television. I was completely absorbed and simultaneously amazed that I was affecting the outcome of what was transpiring on screen. Dyad has this effect on me as an adult. Constantly. I almost can't believe the speed at which it seems to be moving, and I'm equally astounded that I'm any damn good at it. In both instances Dyad is a fantastic example of its medium and deserves to be enjoyed by anyone with an active interest in it.

Dyad walks that fine line between artistic evocation and arcade addiction, emerging in a blinding euphoria of brilliant light at the end of its tunnel.

As an experience, it's one of the most unforgettable of the generation, and overall one of the best games on PSN.

This is a PSN title that shouldn't be missed.

A unique, compelling experience that will reward your sense of adventure if you indulge its charms.

Its visual and aural splendor lies a simple, stimulating experience that's difficult to put down. Dyad manages to create a beautiful synthesis of music, visual design and gameplay mechanics, and it does so without missing a beat.

Dyad is one of the best pure arcade experiences to come along in years, and for players who fall prey to the siren song of its leaderboards, it might just devour their summer.

Between its exceptional presentation, fair but firm gameplay challenges, and trophy requirements that ensure you'll get some significant mileage from the experience, there's no digital game in 2012 that's like Dyad.

Few console games in recent years are as special as Dyad. It can captivate with its beautiful synthesis of visuals and audio while delivering a gameplay experience that grabs hold of you and simply won't let go.

Dyad's heart and soul ultimately reside in the hard-edged and inventive gameplay mechanics that prop-up the aesthetics. Both easy on the eyes and exciting to fiddle with, it'll simultaneously dazzle and bedevil you. If you're game for the challenge, a ticket to this vivid world is yours for a song at $15.

Dyad is a brilliant take on the arcade spirit, a game that will be enjoyed for many years thanks to its superb mechanics and mesmerizing audiovisuals.

If you give a chance to Dyad, you will find yourself engaged in an amazing gameplay and a great audiovisual experience.

Dyad is like an incomplete informative flyer on drug usage. The 'racing game' comes with an obvious manual, but no one will explain to you why you're hanging in front of the television with dilated pupils an hour later, staring at the explosion of color and sound that appears to be emanating from the screen. Let the epilepsy-warning be seen as an invitation to one of the most amazing trips in recent years.

For its surprisingly low asking price, Dyad is a visual powerhouse that must be seen to fully comprehend.

This PSN exclusive offers something unique and fun to the PlayStation audience, and it's a game I truly think that a wide variety of gamers with an even wider variety of genre preferences can enjoy.

Not that we have ever experienced it ourselves, but everything you get to see in the PS3 exclusive Dyad has to be similar to how the world looks when you are under the influence of certain "enlightening" chemicals. [September 2012, p.86]

Dyad is not a pure racing game, but sometimes I aimed for speed. It's not quite a rhythm game, but the steady beat and ethereal enemy sound effects influenced my pace. Dyad falls into a genre gray zone that makes it hard to define. Playing for long stretches feels like sensory over-indulgence, which could be good or bad depending on your sensitivity. No matter how busy the onscreen action becomes, Dyad is consistently entertaining and rarely frustrating.

A unique trophy system will happily send you into metal hunting delirium. [Feb 2013, p.87]

The true measure of this journey isn't where you end up, it's how fast your pulse is racing when each luminous tube finally spits you out into the darkness again. [Oct 2012, p.92]

Clever, colourful and enchanting. You'll be hypnotised from the start. [September 2012, p75]

It will undoubtedly prove to be too much for some – whether it be too loud, too fast or just too out there; but should it sink its hooks in (pun intended), Dyad will foster obsession and with plenty of levels, Trophy challenges, a remix mode and the lure of online leaderboards, there is plenty of content here to feed the addiction.

A special game that is both unique and stylish. The developers (those capitals stand for Right Square Bracket Left Square Bracket Games) do a great job of blending slick music with a surprisingly accessible (albeit sometimes out of control) gameplay mechanic.

Even though Dyad doesn't quite teleport you into the epic worlds of a certain man by the name of Tetsuya Mizuguchi, it doesn't lag behind much either. It even manages to evoke a new type of game experience, which high-score enthusiasts will gladly - and fully - embrace.

Dyad looks tough to fathom, but with the controller in your hands it's not only a hypnotic game but also a very fair one. It pulls together audio, visual and control well, so even at its most visually confusing it rarely feels like you're not pulling the strings. And while it's possible to complete quite easily on a surface level, mastering its depths to claim all the rewards and place well on the leaderboards could take a rather long time indeed.

While Dyad offers quite a bit of gameplay for $15, it can be seen as a one-trick pony. By the time you've beaten every level, you'll probably be fatigued and bored with its gameplay. What's more, it doesn't have the endless replayability of other arcade games.

Dyad merely holds a mirror up to your own failings. If you take the time to master the machine, to level up your own eyes and hands and co-ordination, then this is a game to amplify those tiny victories; to put your name in lights.

Dyad is an entertaining collection of clever gameplay mechanics made more exciting by a trippy presentation.

Dyad is elegant and joyous, a hurricane waiting to be tamed - and you might hate it. That's true of every game, I know, but this is one of those games that you will either want to beat into submission as you bend it to your will, or one that you'll play for a few levels and abandon as soon as the learning curve starts to arc too high. There just isn't a whole lot of in between here.

A colourful feast for the ears and reflexes, Dyad's issues can't ruin this trance party. [Jan 2013, p.114]

Dyad remains a worthwhile trek, but it mesmerizes in spurts rather than with a consistent tenor. [Oct 2012, p.83]

Dyad is not substantial or well designed enough to occupy this body's time once its effects wear off. The games's visuals that recall MTV's Amp are a treat and its manic gameplay is challenging, but these two elements never quite gel together.