Incredipede

Developer: Colin Northway with art by Thomas Shahan | Publisher: Northway Games | Release Date: 2013 | Genre: Simulation/ Adventure / Indie | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam

Incredipede is a game about a peculiar creature named Quozzle, who is on a quest to rescue her sisters from some rather unsavory invaders who showed up to disrupt the tranquility of her home. However, to have any chance of rescuing them, Quozzle will have to traverse three worlds fraught with danger and obstacles. Along the way, she will also have to collect numerous collectibles to appease the guardians who watch over the gates to the next world. This is a mission that would have been tricky enough if Quozzle was a usual platform game hero, like a humanoid or animal, but she is most definitely not. Instead, Quozzle is an incredipede, which means her body basically consists of a giant eyeball that has sprouted numerous arms and legs. In another strange twist, she can grow new arms and legs to change her shape.

Incredipede feels like two games in one, depending on the difficulty level you select. Playing on “Normal” first is highly recommended, as it will give you a feel for the unique control method. Your object remains the same; collect the items on the level and then make your way toward the beam of light that signifies the exit. However, the way you do so will differ dramatically. In “Normal” mode, you are given a premade creature to work with, while “Hard” mode busts things wide open and gives you complete control over designing your own one. Playing through “Normal” mode will give you a good idea of just how many creature combinations are available, but the sky is the limit when it comes to making your own. Of course, creating highly impractical creatures is possible, but half the fun is figuring out what works and what doesn’t.

The thing that makes Incredipede so unique and challenging is the control scheme. Instead of controlling your creature’s movement directly, you can only influence the directions in which the limbs move via the muscles. This is still relatively easy with one set of muscles, but soon, you’ll gain control of another set, meaning it takes four keys to make your creature move. Having to then still wrap your head around what type of gymnastics is required to get to the collectibles is the source of a lot of frustration as well as fun. You’ll have to master moves like swinging, gliding, climbing, diving, swimming, and leaping if you want to have a shot at completing the 120 levels on offer. New obstacles, such as boulders, lava, water, and strong winds, are gradually introduced, but levels are short enough to be completed in seconds if you figure out what needs to be done. You can also press “Space Bar” to instantly restart a level, which is something you’ll appreciate when you mess up. It can take multiple tries before you are able to complete certain levels, even if you know exactly what needs to be done, just because the control scheme is so diabolical.

Another thing about Incredipede that immediately stands out is the visuals. The game has a unique look, which comes courtesy of an artist named Thomas Shahan. Apparently, his primary medium is woodblocks, but after the developer of Incredipede saw some of his work on Wikipedia, he got in touch with Thomas and convinced him to handle the visuals for the game. The result is a game with eye-catching visuals that look unlike anything else out there. The animation is quite impressive, considering the sheer number of creature combinations and ways your creature moves. It has to be said that it can be a little unsettling to see your creature flail about helplessly if you design it poorly. The fact that it is possible to feel pity for something as alien-looking as Quozzle says a lot about the great artistic direction of the game. The music isn’t bad either, but since the levels are so short, you will only hear most of the tracks if you get stuck. Typically, levels start eerily quiet, and the music only kicks in after a while. As for the controls, it takes a lot of effort to master them, but the feeling of satisfaction when your creature finally lurches into the exit point after collecting everything is hard to beat.

While “Normal” mode is challenging enough, it feels like it was just an extended tutorial for the game once you begin to tackle “Hard” mode. Here, you can let your imagination loose and develop the most unique creatures you can think of. The game even allows you to save the creatures you have created and send them to a friend who owns the game so they can try out your abominations. Just in case you think that the 120 levels included in the game are not enough, it also has a level editor for making your own ones, and you can load levels created by other players straight from within the game. With more than a hundred pages of levels available, not all of them are good, but there are some great ones in the mix. We also have to mention the achievements in this game, which have nothing to do with the actual game but instead require you to research and interact with actual insects. Obviously, you can simply cheat and claim to have done what the game asks of you, but where is the fun in that?

As long as you don’t mind failing a lot and can handle a control scheme that requires a bit more thought than usual, you will enjoy Incredipede. It is a game that looks great, provides an entertaining challenge, and has plenty of reasons to keep playing, thanks to the level editor and creature designer. Even if you grow tired of the levels, it is still a lot of fun to mess around in the sandbox mode to see the weirdest design you can come up with. The graphics of Incredipde have also aged quite well, so it looks as vibrant and unique as it did when it was first released. If you like unique puzzle titles, then you really shouldn’t hesitate to add Incredipede to your library.