Game: The Pedestrian
Genre: Puzzle, Platformer, Adventure
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam, (Windows) macOS, PS4 & 5, Xbox One & Xbox Series)
Developers | Publishers: Skookum Arts
Age Rating: US E10+ | EU 3+
Price: US $19.99 | UK £15.09 | EU € 19,99
Release Date: January 18th, 2024
A review code was used, with many thanks to Skookum Arts.
Initially funded on Kickstarter and then released on Steam for PC in 2022, The Pedestrian is a 2.5D side-scrolling puzzle platformer without text or narrative in which you are the Pedestrian. Of course, nowadays, 2D puzzle platformers are hardly rare, though The Pedestrian’s emphasis is on puzzles rather than platforming. However, when they’re up to the standard of The Pedestrian, you know you are in for a treat and a good time.
Play as a Generic Black Figure
The Pedestrian has you play as the generic black figure that you see on various signs in the real world, like on the toilet/bathroom signs, emergency exit signs and so on.
When the game begins, you can choose to be either a male or female sign person. The gameplay of this puzzler takes place across a cityscape where several streets and warning signs are dotted around a real-world environment; it has a pretty unique twist of game mechanics.
You must move around and link different signs together so your little Pedestrian person can walk through doors and climb ladders that would otherwise be a dead end. Since most puzzles are independent of one another, The Pedestrian makes for a great pick-up-and-play game that truly puts your brain cells to work and makes you think.
Plan View
Doors and ladders in each sign allow you to move to another sign, but these entrances and exits aren’t all connected to begin with. So, you’ll need to link them by hitting the X button to enter the plan view. Here, you can move the signs around with the cursor and drag lines between them, as long as another sign does not obscure a sign.
You can enter the plan view at any time to fiddle some more with the signs if you haven’t correctly placed them. However, there is a catch, and that is that once you’ve moved The Pedestrian between the signs, that connection can’t be broken without resetting the puzzle. So, it’s best to join things up in the correct order before making your move and proceeding.
New Mechanics Introduced Frequently
Manipulating the signs and doors in this way is the main core of the puzzles, and the game will introduce new mechanics as you progress. You will also have to search for door keys, throw switches to raise elevators and move crates around so you can jump up onto ledges. Furthermore, the puzzles in The Pedestrian are often grouped around hubs. You then venture into connecting signs to gather objects you need to progress from the hub.
Additionally, you will have to take care as some signs are dangerous, such as sawblades that spin and laser beams. Both of these instantly eliminate The Pedestrian, so you’ll need to either block or deactivate the threats to proceed.
Starts out Easy, Gets More Complex
The Pedestrian is the kind of game that starts out easy, and then the puzzles get more complex. I don’t want to go into too much detail due to spoilers, but I thought a lot of the later puzzles got challenging, but it never got to the point where I felt like giving up, nor was it frustrating trying to solve the puzzles. And that’s just as well as there isn’t a hint system in the game; there are random post-it notes placed around some of the puzzles that give a vague hint, but there isn’t a dedicated hint system.
Although the puzzles begin easy and become pretty tricky by the end of the game, what lies between is a little uneven in its difficulty. Some of the puzzles preceding the final chapter are surprisingly simple and easy to complete.
One thing that is missing from the game is a reset option for puzzles, which did prove to be frustrating. If you make a mistake in arranging the puzzle, you are forced to tear it apart manually and set it in a position in which you feel comfortable trying it again. The lack of a reset button was not too great of an issue with the simpler, smaller puzzles. However, as the puzzles get more complex, not having a reset button becomes increasingly frustrating.
3D Cityscape
In between the puzzle sections in the signs, the camera pans around a 3D environment. The usual thing is that your actions within the puzzles affect real-life actions in the larger 3D city environment.
These 3D backdrops, despite you never playing on them, are designed as a living, breathing world. I often found myself admiring the 3D backdrops as the camera panned across the scene before moving on to the next sign puzzle. The areas you travel across are all city-related, from the warehouse to the subway to the sewers and the city streets, and finally, you end up on the rooftops.
Change of Perspective
It was in the final section of the game that my enjoyment of The Pedestrian diminished a little. Without going into too much detail, I don’t want to spoil the ending of the game other than to say that suddenly, the game changed from a 2D sign puzzling to a 3D first-person perspective.
The viewpoints changing was something I was not expecting to happen. While it’s a great idea gameplay-wise, unfortunately, it’s not so good for folk like myself who get motion sickness from a first-person view, so the last portion of the gameplay was a bit of a downer for me.
Even though I battled motion sickness in the last area of The Pedestrian, I could still see that the gameplay and puzzles in that section were simple but clever, given what came before it.
Visuals and Music
Visually, The Pedestrian is a mix of simple-drawn puzzles and gorgeous cityscapes. I liked the contrast between the simple images of the puzzles and the 3D cityscape.
The soundtrack to accompany all the puzzles is good; it’s not intrusive and leaves the puzzles to be the main feature of the game. Controls are spot on and work as they should on the Nintendo Switch. The Pedestrian also utilises the touch screen on the Switch, which is great as not enough games make use of it.
Conclusion
While I didn’t struggle too much with the puzzles, I can see where a hint system would be an improvement, especially to attract more casual gamers who might pick The Pedestrian up and then get frustrated quickly and miss out on this unique game.
For puzzle fans, if you take The Pedestrian for a walk, you will find that the best puzzle games are the ones that make you feel really smart for figuring them out, and The Pedestrian has many puzzles that will give you that eureka moment and make you feel like a genius!
Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot 