Looking for a really unique game to fill up some time? I have a suggestion. It’s called Redumption. The game is full of mystery and is really unusual. Plus, it’s totally free!
Fun Games That Won’t Break the Bank: Redumption
I can’t find any information about this game or the developer. Sometimes free games are the product of a college project, a game jam or a way for a dev to learn a new game engine. I’ve searched and can’t find any reason for this game to be free. There aren’t even any discussions on Steam to refer to. I guess I just have to accept that it’s a mystery and send my virtual thanks to the developer for giving us such a cool game.
The Backstory of Redumption is Wacky
In the opening scenes of Redumption, the Witch of the Waste (the bad witch) has declared that soon all people will be transformed into trash, and she will become the ruler of the land. I saw the outlines of 5 people who she says will soon be turned into trash and trapped in her domain using her magic powers.
Cut to a scene where the Witch of the Woods (the good witch) holds her hands out to me and says she was able to save me, but her power is dwindling, so she imparted the last of it to me. She gave me her magical broom and told me to go and save my friends.
I met my 5 friends who no longer looked human; now they looked like trash items. One looked like a soda can, for example, one a hamburger. I spoke with them, and together they gave me a list of items which I need to return to them so they can regain their human forms. Kind of wacky, but that’s ok. So off I went!!
The Look and Feel of Redumption
Everything is chunky and blocky, kind of like Legos. My character doesn’t have a face either, which is interesting. But I live in a colorful world with a city, a dump, the woods, a sandy cave and a beach area.
It seems I am the only human left since my friends have now been transformed into trash. There are trash bags everywhere, which I can make disappear with a swipe of my magic broom. What’s odd is that there are also discarded lamps and garden hoses along with the trash, and I can’t make them disappear. Even after completing the game, I can’t explain this! It’s a mystery.
Redumption has an interesting soundtrack. When I’m just walking around, it’s catchy music with a peppy beat. But when I meet with a boss, there’s ominous, pensive music with lots of tension and drama.
There were numerous spots in the world where I could see different environments, but they were behind beautiful metal fences with gates. After trying some gates, I discovered that some of them open, some do not. I thought it was exciting when I found one that opened.
The Gameplay of Redumption
The gameplay was actually pretty simple. At the beginning of the game, I was given instructions as I played, and then more mechanics were explained as the game progressed. In a nutshell, I walk around swatting at things with my magical broom!! It makes trash disappear, and rats turn into small cubes, which disappear too. There is combat with some strange, round creatures and bosses, but it’s pretty simple to beat them. I don’t generally enjoy combat, but I found this easy enough.
There’s a series of bicycles I encountered, which are fast travel spots, allowing me to choose where I want to teleport to. That was handy since walking is really slow in Redumption. I was given the mechanic to speed walk, but that really uses up energy fast!! Fortunately, your energy restores really fast, too. What’s amusing about the fast travel spots is that the UI to choose where to go is either rolls of paper towels or toilet paper, I can’t tell! Either way, it fits with the “dump” theme of the game.
I also randomly run into red gummy bears, which are the only thing I can put in my inventory. When I eat them, I get more energy. I found them helpful while doing combat, so I could continue to fight without dying. Also, they are tasty in real life!
There is an autosave feature in Redumption, but I’m not quite clear on when it saves. I think after entering a new area, but there is no icon to indicate when it’s saving. Keeping an eye on energy levels and eating gummy bears when they are low is a good plan, so you don’t die. I’ve noticed that when I fast-travel to a new area, all the trash piles and some of the gummy bears have regenerated. That’s good news with respect to the gummies, but not the trash!
Some Mysterious Things
The dump is full of broken beach chairs, beach umbrellas, and blow-up float rings. While they do belong in the dump, I wonder why those are the only things in the dump that I can make disappear with my broom. There are old sofas and other items that don’t disappear when I swat them. I never did figure that out, it’s yet another mystery.
After leaving the dump, I found a path with interesting pink ponds. Turns out these are “Poison Pits” and if I walk into one, I die! Yikes. They looked so pretty, too. There are also round blobs on this path, which I have to fight. But it’s super easy combat, just swipe with my broom. Sometimes they break up into multiple blobs, which I have to hit again, but none of it is very hard. Sometimes they shoot balls at me, again, easy to hit with my broom. I can also choose to try and avoid them completely, which is not very hard to do. And if I lose energy, I just eat a gummy bear. Not a big deal.
Final Thoughts
I had to battle some more bosses, including a final battle with the Witch of the Waste, in order to restore my friends to human form. None of the battles were very intense, and I’m a person who really dislikes battles!! I predict you will have a good time with this easy combat.
One funny thing is, I have to battle a king seagull in the beach area. He would throw his poop at me, and I’d try to hit it with my broom so it flies back and hits him. Too funny!!
It took me 1 ½ hours to complete Redumption. I play really slowly and get lost a lot, so your play time will probably be less. It was a lot of fun, though and a totally unique gaming experience. From the number of names in the credits, I have to wonder if this game was a student project after all. I guess that will remain the final mystery. But I thank the developers, Funky Bug Studios, for sharing this great game with us for free. What a treat.
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