Proto Raider, the creation of Lithuanian developers Puzzle Lab, is one of those games that I wanted to play as soon as I saw the first screenshot. Sadly, it was initially only released for iOS devices, of which I had none.
Proto Raider received a warm enough reception from iOS gamers that Puzzle Lab mounted a Steam Greenlight campaign, which proved to be successful. Now, finally, it’s available for Windows and I can play it on my old-fashioned computer machine.
On its title screen, the game proclaims itself to be a “Hardcore Arcade Quest” and I can’t think of a better 3-word description. A bare, one-word description might be “platformer”. Each level is a single screen packed with platforms, traps, monsters, and seemingly every other hazard that the developers could think of, all lovingly rendered in (faux?) ASCII.
Proto Raider’s most obvious stylistic flourish (some might say gimmick) is its ASCII graphics. I should say “ASCII-like”, because I’m pretty sure there are some things going on that wouldn’t be possible with pure ASCII (like the trail behind your avatar). Personally, I love the graphics. They’re detailed, clearly drawn, deftly animated, and they ring the nostalgia bells for me.
The game mechanics are easy to grasp. Basically, you move inexorably in one direction unless you run into something that turns you around or kills you. You can jump when you want to, but everything else—running, climbing, swimming, turning, collecting, interacting, etc.—is done automatically, as long as your positioning is correct. It’s amazing how many interesting variations the developers can spin on this basic formula.
I would not be so enamored of the graphics if they were simply finery draped over a shitty game. However, Proto Raider is great. It’s compulsively playable, thanks to its simple interface, clear goals, and flawlessly designed levels—as well as its interesting (some would say beautiful) visual presentation.
Proto Raider is $3.99 for Windows machines and $2.99 for iOS devices.
3 comments