Review written by KrustyManMeat
Way back when in 2007 a little known game called Portal appeared and changed the way everyone viewed First Person Puzzle games. This little gem was a shining light in the already impressive Orange Box compilation. It's no exaggeration to say it spawned a new generation of puzzle games and as with all things that become popular pretenders to the throne have come and gone without so much of a whisper. The next game to throw down the gauntlet is The Turing Test but can it match Portals addictive and rewarding test chambers?
You are woken up by the ship's AI T.O.M. after ten years in a stasis pod while orbiting one of Jupiter's moons. T.O.M. who is always there helps you to find your feet and guides you as you take your first steps. The interaction between Ava and T.O.M. is superb throughout and it really adds a great sense of companionship between them both. During the first chapter you receive a gun while standing in a white washed out soon with one simple puzzle to solve. This is where you learn what lies ahead. There are multiple puzzle rooms which get harder and harder the further you progress. Your objective in each room is to escape from it and move onto the next room and so on. While the objective might sound simple in practice it's a lot harder.
You're given a gun and it allows you to manipulate balls of energy. The left trigger sucks up balls of energy which allows you to move around with it once you have collected it and the right trigger let's you shoot it towards your target. These energy ball's can be fired into energy sockets which are strategically placed in each room you enter. T begin with each socket acts as a door lock. Shoot the energy into the socket and abracadabra the door unlocks. But as you progress further into the game various actions are activated. Some act as conduits which light up wiring that runs between rooms to other sockets. These will activate moving platforms, bridges, steps and robots.
The puzzles on offer aren't as insanely difficult but some will take to time figure out. The difficulty level is pitched perfectly and when you do solve a puzzle you thought was impossible it will definitely raise a smile and make you feel like a smart arse. Sometime the answer is staring you right in the face and other times you'll have to switch your grey matter to its highest setting. The feeling that you have really accomplished something without the need to slaughter zombies/aliens/terrorists is the same here as it is in Portal.
At only £15.99 The Turing Test is in a perfect price bracket. There is easily at least eight hours of gameplay here and if you're a completionist there are multiple reasons to jump back into the game once completed. Just do yourself a favour and enjoy The Turing Test as it's meant to be played, without a walkthrough guide.
