Games that play with colour, whether it be from the basic idea of restoring it to your world (ala Gris) or the more advanced mechanical based ones like Antichamber, have held some significant fascination for me. I’m not quite sure what it is though as it’s not like I’m obsessed with colour in other aspects of my life. So you can likely see why Discolored caught my attention when I was trolling the Steam discovery engine looking for a game to review this week. Whilst the concept was enough to draw me in the execution however is sub-par, it’s simplistic mechanics, lack of any story and general lack of polish made for a rather unsatisfying 75 minutes of game time.
The game’s plot is extremely simplistic; telling you that there’s a diner somewhere that’s lost all its colour and you’ve been sent to investigate. The game doesn’t have any further dialogue or items in the game that’d point as to why that might have been the case, nor does completing any of the puzzles reveal any further insight about that. Now I’ve played my fair share of games that tell stories through unconventional means but Discolored seemingly wants you to believe it has one without actually putting any effort in to develop it. This only makes the game’s ultimate conclusion even more confusing as it offers up no explanation nor real conclusion to your time spent there.
The game’s graphics are…ok, something which usually is neither here nor there but looking at the developer’s webpage it’s clear that he’s capable of producing far better art and assets than what has been included in the game. I can likely hazard a guess as to why: simplicity on the graphics end belies the complexity he likely encountered when trying to code for enabling/disabling the different colours. That’d explain why most of the surfaces are completely flat and untextured and why most of the assets themselves are very basic. Still given the fact that the colour mechanic itself is basic and not particularly interesting I’d honestly say he would’ve been better served toning down the mechanic and focusing on the visuals and story a little more.
Discolored’s mechanics focus somewhat around the idea of restoring colour to the world but for the most part it’s your run of the mill puzzler. None of them are particularly difficult but you’ll likely hit a few walls where you and the developer’s chain of logic part ways. This isn’t helped by the fact that the hit detection is a bit wonky and 90% of the time when I was stuck on something it was when I had clicked on a particular object and it did nothing, necessitating me finding the right angle to actually get it to work. You’d also think that switching or combining different colours would be a major mechanic that the game focuses on but it isn’t, only coming into play a couple of times before the game runs its course.
There’s just nothing really about Discolored that stands out as a reason for you to play it. The mechanics aren’t inventive or novel, the graphics are below average, there’s not a skerrick of a story to be had and the soundtrack is so forgettable that I can’t even really remember if there is one. I was kind of hoping for a new take on the “restore colour to the world” trope but found a very basic puzzler that does little to make you want to keep playing.
I went into Discolored without any expectations really, just looking for a game to tide over the blog between the larger reviews. What I found was a below par game that, given the credentials of the developer, could have been a lot better. The only standout feature is that it’s short so you’re unlikely to waste a great deal of time stumbling through the ham fisted puzzles, gawking at boring graphics or trying to remember if there was a soundtrack or not. To the developer I have this to say: build a game around your strengths. It’s obvious you’ve got skills in 3D artwork, start from that basis and work up.
Rating: 5.5/10
Discolored is available on PC right now for $11.50. Total play time was 75 minutes with 84% of the achievements unlocked.
