Game: Graviter
Genre: Adventure, Education, Puzzle
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam)
Developers | Publishers: Emil Markiewicz | No Gravity Games
Age Rating: US E | EU 3+
Price: US $7.99 | UK £6.99 | EU € 7,99
Release Date: April 8th, 2021
Review code used with many thanks to No Gravity Games
Graviter released by No Gravity Games (no pun intended) is an adventure, puzzle game where gravity plays a big part in the gameplay. It’s a real-world-physics-based game about manipulating gravitational forces. Shrink and enlarge planets, and move them around to find your way through over a hundred different levels of varying complexity.
Poor Kitty
Graviter has a little storyline that involves a missing kitten. A kitty is caught and devoured by evil and vicious black hole. I’m not exactly sure what the evil black hole wants with the kitty. Thankfully the kitty has been very thoughtful and in the heat of the moment of being pulled into the black hole has left you parts of the galaxy’s map. By collecting all the parts it will lead you back to the kitty. However, in order to succeed you have to learn how to manipulate gravity to your side whilst obeying the laws of nature.
Graviter is a simple-to-understand but rather difficult gravity-based puzzle game to get the hang of. You take on the role of the object trying to search for the lost kitty after it was eaten. You will need to find and collect all of the kitty’s paw prints on screen from level to level, obviously, you are following the kitty by following its paw prints.
Follow the Paw Prints
In following the kitty’s paw prints you must manipulate the planets to allow a rocket, at least I think it’s a rocket, to weave between the planets and collect the paw prints on the screen. Of course, it is not as simple as that as the rocket is on a set route unless you intervene to stop it as you don’t have any direct control over the rocket.
To get the rocket to change its route you have to move the planets. By resizing a planet or moving it around the set area, or even making it translucent, you can change the trajectory of the rocket. In changing the size and positions of the planet the gravitational forces come into play, making the gravity feel quite realistic while you are playing.
Limited Number of Pauses
When the level starts you wiggle the planets around until you get the trajectory of the rocket, shown by the red line to run through each paw print. Once you hit the start button the rocket shoots off along the red line, if it hits anything on the level it’s game over. But you do have a set number of pauses in each level to use, so you can pause and re-adjust the path of the rocket.
Using the pauses means that you create a path for your rocket, then when the rocket is at that point in orbit, you press the A button to stop the rocket in mid-motion. You reposition the planets once more and create a new path, as of course the objective is to collect those paws. If you’re successful it is on to the next level.
Need To Think
Graviter isn’t the kind of game that you can solve all the puzzles easily. Each puzzle requires some thought of how to manipulate the planets in such a way that the rocket won’t crash. The rocket is really fast and once it is off it goes shooting across the screen. But the actual gameplay of moving the planets takes a little time.
There is a tutorial at the start of the game and it does explain everything well to the player. Graviter is the sort of game I can play and whizz through a few levels with no problems, then I’ll hit a level and spent ages trying to solve it. It is not a difficult game though, in fact, I think the level of challenge in the game is fair.
Visuals and Controls
Graviter has simple lines and visuals, I like the clean look of the game which shows off the puzzle area well. There’s is an option to switch between a colourful version or a white and blue version of the puzzles. This is a nice option to have for those that like the more minimalistic colour view.
The game controls well with the joy-cons and the music to accompany your puzzling is nice and chilled.
Conclusion
With 101 levels to complete, Graviter has lots to offer puzzle fans. It’s a game you can do in stages and would be great to occupy your mind with for an hour or so a day.
Graviter has a clean art look, well-explained mechanics, and interesting puzzles. If playing with rockets, gravity and saving a kitty is your idea of a fun puzzle game then look no further than Graviter.
Final Verdict: I Like It A Lot 