Metrico

An original take on the genre, Metrico is a shining example of what can be achieved with the Vita's hardware and a must-buy for puzzle fans.

Despite some minor technical flaws and a few clumsy moments, Metrico is a smart and rewarding experience that uses PS Vita's features brilliantly. [Oct 2014, p.94]

Metrico is a great puzzle/platform, probably the best puzzle/platform title released this year on PS Vita. If you love the info graphic style, this game is for you.

A unique concept that uses all of Sony's handheld features in a creative way. If you own a Vita and like puzzle games, you might want to consider this, even though some of the moves you need to do in order to play Metrico aren't exactly advisable to do in public.

The game abandons some of its mechanics too quickly and the ending will leave you scratching your head, but when it comes down to it, you can count on Metrico.

It’s an elegantly detailed and calculated puzzle-adventure that throws players into an office-clerk nightmare of pie charts and statistics with the only means of escape is some good ol’ fashioned thinking. It’s a strong contender for the best puzzle game of the year so far and, if nothing else, will leave you marvelling at the sheer beauty of its unified ambition.

A thoroughly enjoyable game and in a market bursting with puzzle platformers, it manages to shine bright and bring something truly unique to the table.

The occasional issues with the gyroscope mechanics don't stop Metrico being a must own title for the Vita.

Without a clear system to give players feedback on whether their inputs are constructive or destructive, Metrico's emphasis on perpetually shifting rule sets and experimentation just wouldn't work. Instead, all of the game's ideas respond to each other much like its own delightful infographics, creating a short and beautiful puzzler that feels like a wholly self-contained piece.

I suspect that it will be a game which polarises opinions among Vita gamers but I loved almost every aspect of it and I’m very happy that the Vita remains such a strong platform for imaginative experiences like Metrico.

It is immensely fun to play and the puzzles never get monotonous. If you love platform games, you absolutely have to experience Metrico. And if you’re an info-graphic lover, this is your holy grail game.

Metrico is without any doubt one of the best games available for PlayStation Vita and probably the best puzzle/platform title released this year. A must-have if you own the little/big Sony’s console. Unfortunately, it will only last a few hours.

This is one of those games PS Plus users should not miss, and if you like puzzles and platforming it's a must-have. It's original and fresh, and even though it could have been a little bit more polished, it still is a great experience.

While I love that Metrico doesn't hold your hand, there were times when I felt I could have used a bit more to hang on to - especially the levels where some of the on-screen "hints" are actually obfuscating the true course of action. However, for every moment of frustration, there were greater feelings of pride and the thrill of discovery.

Metrico is an original puzzle game, but is too short to stand out.

The ever-changing mechanics lead to interesting puzzle elements, but the fun hits the brakes when you are faced with an annoying motion control.

In fact, that line pretty much sums up the whole game: it's easy to appreciate Metrico on an intellectual level and it's easy to admire what the game is doing on a technical level. But there's a world of difference between admiring a game and loving it, and, unfortunately, Metrico falls very clearly on one side of that divide.

With puzzle games there’s the all-important line between just ‘fiddling about’ and ‘feeling smart’. Metrico is on the right side of that line. The game can feel a bit pretentious at times, but it’s still an excellent puzzle experience.

It remains a solid adventure today despite the late-game efforts of one of the worst system-based game mechanics of this or any other year. The afternoon of graph diving it takes to beat Metrico is all that’s needed to forever see a small silhouette jumping to and fro on all of the financial documents in your future.

That aside, Metrico is a interesting puzzle game, albeit one that can sometimes feel like it's down to trial and error: a lot of times you'll have to show your working out.

When it sticks to its best features, Metrico is a stupendous experience. When it pushes the envelope, it’s far too obtuse to enjoy.

Exploration and experimentation that's clever but runs out of steam far too quickly. [October 2014, p83]

The concept behind Metrico is both innovative and unique in the platformer genre. Most of its puzzles are clever and quite satisfying to complete. However, others become physically uncomfortable due to the game mechanics related to the unique characteristics of the PlayStation Vita.

It is flashy fun, a succinct use of the Vita’s abilities, but the game burns quick and leaves nothing to chew on afterwards, like an infographic that missed its own point.

Metrico is an ingenious and unique Vita puzzler heavily weighed down by gimmicky controls and technical issues.

Metrico isn't a bad game. On the one hand, you're immediately captivated by the unique gameplay. On the other, the interface keeps hindering your progression and immersion.

While I applaud Metrico for using the Vita’s various tools, it is a game I might not be fully comfortable playing at a park bench or bus ride. I can only imagine the puzzled looks I get as people see me twist the handheld in different directions. And when the game requires the camera, I had better be in an area with a good light source.

The first half of Metrico is challenging and interesting. The second half is just irritating, due to the schizophrenic use of all the input methods of PSVita.

Metrico is a visual and auditory delight: a sumptuous treat of a game with presentation that consistently impresses. However, a short running time, combined with occasionally shonky controls and a slightly frustrating central premise means that its gameplay never really lives up to its grand graphical grace.

Metrico has lots of good intentions, with original visuals and attitude, but its insistence in using all of Vita's control methods ends up being a big problem.

Metrico is beautiful puzzle-platformer with a great minimal, infographic-inspired aesthetic complemented by an awesome soundtrack. Unfortunately, the game gets in its own way by focusing on gimmicky Vita controls. It has moments of greatness, but ends up just being "good".

Metrico has interesting visuals and creative mechanics, but getting stuck brings your enjoyment to a full stop.

Metrico looks and sounds the part of a critical darling, but laborious controls and empty narrative agency mar this chromatic trip.

The concept of using metrics based on your character’s own movements to manipulate a living infographic that you need to platform on is one that sounds great in design, but the execution of said concept needs to be tweaked before I could recommend that anyone spend much time with Metrico. Sadly, it does feel like you’re just bringing work home with you.

This infographically-inspired puzzle game only lasts a few short hours, but for most it'll be a case of dipping in and out between bouts of frustration. [Nov 2014, p.80]

With a bit of restraint and more focus on the types of relational challenges that it does well, Metrico would have been an easy recommend to fans of the fringe. In its current state, it's an aggravating equation that produces unhappy results.

It is disappointing to see a game like Metrico take so many wrong turns and squander so much promise. It becomes yet another example of a game burdened by creep, one that started with a simple premise that becomes buried by complexity.

The presentation is excellent but by trying to use every trick in the PS Vita’s book the game does far more harm than good to the portable’s reputation.

It does so much so right so quickly in the beginning that its subsequent avalanche of inputs felt like the worst kind of betrayal. Metrico takes its concept and buries it under needless complication, and there's not much left to recommend underneath all that wreckage.