You can file OrThought, the first title from Eketech Games, under "Things That Make You Go Hmmm". Billed as a 3D block pushing game, it lulls you into a false sense of sokoban (or Chip's Challenge) flavoured security. You settle yourself in for a nice long evening of puzzles when, alas! A moose! Clutching your top hat in terror, you look for an exit and spy it far above you, the path made treacherous by heavy blocks, ice, and bouncing balls! Will you make it? Or will you fall into the depths of... THE BIT BUCKET? Despite its flaws, OrThought is worth your time to find out.
You can play OrThought with either the [WASD] keys for movement and [QERF] to manipulate the camera, or with the [arrow] and [/*-+] keys, which serve the same functions. You want to get to the exit in each level, represented helpfully by a big E block. Every time you fail, whether it be by falling off the map or breaking beneath the mighty mass of a marauding moose, you'll have to start over from the beginning of the level. If you get stuck, you can reset the level at the top of the screen from the menu bar. OrThought does not feature an autosave function, so remember to save your game on each level and before you quit.
There is a sense here that OrThought is almost, almost, absolutely fantastic. But just because it falls shy of achieving that doesn't mean it isn't enjoyable. There is a staggering amount of ambition behind this game, from the wonderful complexity of some of the puzzles to the simple yet charming 3D presentation itself. There are teleportation pads, ice blocks, water, keys, robots and much more to discover, each with their own set of rules and behaviours. It makes what would otherwise be a typical sokoban puzzle into something really special.
Unfortunately, OrThought's biggest enemy is its own interface. The controls can be frustrating when you first start off, which may turn off people looking for a more laid-back experience. With no Undo feature, any mistakes you make can force you to restart the level. Considering how quickly the game begins flooding you with new elements, it's too easy to make a misstep. If you can stick with it, OrThought offers a lot of challenging puzzles and clever gameplay. As a first effort, it makes its share of mistakes, but it also does a lot of things right, and puzzle fans who give this one a chance may just find something to love.
How odd, this game was on JIG earlier today when I refreshed the screen and when I went to play it I had issues with it going to white screen. I entered that into the comments and just a minute or two later it's as if Orthought never existed on JIG in the first place. Now it's back, and game play seems to be working again.
It was inadvertently published earlier before it was ready.
I find the perspective controls rather wonky. It's sometimes difficult getting the right perspective so I can follow my little guy. Interesting game though.
This game has a lot of untapped potential.
The biggest flaws with it are the inability to do a full 360 deg pan, and the
*difficulty curve*! Once it got to the level with the enemies, I just gave up.
Also, while it would be difficult, true perspective would help (blocks in the background should be smaller than the foreground).
But all in all, this is a very good game that IMO has potential to be a great one!
I like this game. But I could not proceed past the Lock Trap level.
A three-dimensional sokoban! I think my life is complete...
Well, okay, the control scheme here leaves something to be desired, but it's a unique idea and a lot of fun.
That is a really good game, with, which is not really common, a really nice and smooth music. Yes, the architecture is sometimes hard to figure out, but the interest and tricks of the different levels make this one a great puzzle game.
It's a great game, but it is lacking something. I can't get past level 7, with the movable ladders. I'll come back to it another time.
Why do I get killed by a mouse??? A moose, sure, but a mouse?
A zoom-out feature is seriously needed. The game don't need to spend so much cpu on true 3d. Just let me see the whole map! I am on map 15 brain freeze. Those no-turning-until-one-hit-the-wall maze need one to plan ahead a lot. And I can't see the full maze no matter what angle I choose. Absolutely annoying.
Finally a new sokoban, and it looks good, too.
No, wait, I have to flee from mice. Stress in stead of puzzle!
Too bad, this might have been a great game.
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