Duet

Developer: Kumobius

Steam Release: Aug 2015

Hours Played: 2.0

Similar To: AVSEQ / Bit.Trip Void / Circa Infinity / Rflex

Rating: 4/5 Parsnips

GAMEPLAY

We're off to Minimal Town again here but this one has the slick appearance and elegant polish that make it special. Duet reminds me of those interactive displays at the Science Museum that may have developed from a simple idea but had me captivated and riveted as a kid at the time. It certainly starts with a simple idea: stick one blue and one red orb on the opposite sides of a circular ring and rotate it so the orbs don't collide with gently cascading rectangles falling from above. Of course, with the beauty that is the digital age, in this game all you do is press two buttons or move a stick to rotate the ring one way or another - and of course the falling rectangles don't interfere with the ring itself. Needless to say, progressively maddening configurations and patterns contribute to turning this deceptively zen-like game into a mean and brutal machine.
  

BALANCE & PACE

Duet is a very smooth game and you can ease yourself in very gently at first by playing the first of its three "campaigns" entitled Story. There are eight chapters here named after emotions with each having five or six levels, apart from the last one called acceptance which has nine. With fingers at the ready you rotate the ring and marvel at your skills as the two orbs weave and swivel around those falling rectangles. Of course, it's comfortably pleasant at first with one level even telling you how to "solve" it (keep rotating in one direction) but you'll soon be colliding with the offending rectangles with alarming frequency. With the orbs giving off a splashy paint effect as you crash again and again, completing levels become more infectious and tantalizing just as the rage within matches how appalled you are at your ineptitude.

PRESENTATION & DESIGN 

As you'd expect with such a simple idea, there is no need to go overboard with design. Black and white dominates with just the red and blue of the orbs being the only other colours used. A nice glowing trail swirls along with them as they spin. There is a female narrator who spouts gibberish at the beginning of levels in a kind of dream-like fashion as if it's something profound but despite being inane does give the game atmosphere. Restarts are automatic and instant and literally don't require you to lift a finger - as if the game knows you will mess-up constantly. On the downside, when playing with a controller, you will have to reach for the escape key to pause or end your session.

PROGRESS SYSTEM

This is where the game turns into a hodge-podge. On hitting Play from the start-screen you're given five choices. Story, Epilogue and Encore are more or less campaigns split into unlockable chapters with five or six levels in each (apart from later chapters in Story and Epilogue which have nine). There are 49, 48 and 30 levels respectively and completing each one makes the square turn grey at the level select screen. Perfecting a level with the minimum rotations earns you a green triangle. The Challenges section features six endless levels where you attempt to last as long as possible. Some have to be unlocked, some don't - and just for good measure, they throw in three mini-chapters with 3, 6 and 3 levels; all haphazard and confusing. The speed-runs are continuous runs of the campaigns.     

CONCLUSION

Duet is one of those games that's great for bursts of no more than 20 or 30 minutes. There will definitely be that level you're determined to beat but any longer and you'll begin to tie your brain in knots and become useless. Its endless modes brings in an interesting points system mechanic that penalises early crashes but still gives you the chance to recover. It also knows that to keep things dynamic, it needs to vary falling patterns and the way rectangles behave. Add the melodic and trance-like groove that flows along as you play, plus the fact that it caters for all abilities, and it's a worthwhile package with plenty of value. My only questions would be why the menus couldn't be more ordered in a user-friendly way and why it demands players finish the campaigns first before they can attempt a continuous run of of it in the speed-run section.