My name is Tommynaut and I crashed on a hostile planet together with my companion Beak-Beak. We’re trying to escape the dangers of this planet but to do so; we need to escape this strange fortress called an Armikrog. It’s not an easy task and just like me, everything around me is created out of clay. It’s an interesting sight but it seems like I have to repeat my actions over and over again in order to make it out of the Armikrog alive.
Enter the Armikrog
As said in the beginning, Armikrog is a unique game that reminded us a lot of a classic game called ‘The Neverhood’, the protagonist of Armikrog looks a lot like that guy and it’s safe to say that Armikrog can be considered a spiritual successor of The Neverhood. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, however, since the same team created both games. Armikrog was launched on Kickstarter and had no problem funding the project. Fans were looking forward to Armikrog and based on the style, we definitely understand why.
Everything you see in Armikrog is created using clay. There are literally hours of work in this game, just by placing and replacing the clay over and over again to create an animation. It’s the ultimate form of a stop-motion technique and it looks incredible. The game released on PC a while back but it’s good to see that the quality of the product stayed the same on consoles. Everything looks great and the intro song is perhaps the best we’ve ever seen. It’s a bit of a disappointment to see some of the scenes being animated without the use of clay; but aside of that, the style of the game is amazing. So what about the actual gameplay?
Environmental puzzles
The game is all about solving puzzles in a point & click environment. By clicking on certain objects, our character will run towards it and interact with it. This works very fluently on a PC but is not the best mechanism to use on consoles. Using your analogue stick as a mouse isn’t as precise as it should, so you’ll waste a lot of your time clicking on the right object. That being said, the puzzles lack variation and creativity to really be entertaining until the end.
Most of the puzzles revolve around the same mechanism, finding a lever to activate a switch. This lever is hidden somewhere in the level and you’ll need to use Beak-Beak to track it down. Since Beak-Beak is a dog, he can’t see in colors but will see the world in a negative view. It’s cute at first but after using this effect puzzle after puzzle, it’s rather annoying. Once Beak-Beak finds the lever, he’ll eat it and puke it out for Tommynaut to use it. Again, it’s nothing special once you did it a couple of times. The only variation you’ll see in the puzzles is the use of an orange fluffy creature; this one helps you reach higher grounds. But just like the lever, the creators used the orange create a little too much to keep it fun.
Vague hints
The biggest problem I had with the puzzles, however, is the lack of clues. There are some puzzles that just aren’t logical and the game never gives you a useful hint on how to advance. If I’m stuck in a room for over fifteen minutes, telling me the answer ‘is right in front of me’ isn’t a good hint at all. I discovered that backtracking as Beak-Beak in order to find radio waves would solve a lot of puzzles but that’s just not the best way to handle this type of things. It’s a shame the puzzles aren’t any better since the game is extremely appealing thanks to its style.
| The Good: | The Bad: |
| + Visual style | – No variation in puzzles |
| + Introduction video | – No clues |
| – Disappointing ending |
Armikrog looks incredible and the amount of work that went into creating this game is insane. Behind the gorgeous looks is a classic game however that lacks any form of variation of creativity in gameplay. You’ll solve the same type of puzzle over and over again, hoping for a clue that will never come. It’s a bit disappointing to say, but Armikrog could have been a lot better. That being said, if you’re able lower your standards when it comes to gameplay, you’ll find some enjoyment here for sure.
Score 3 out of 5:
