The first early Christmas present has arrived - the new game by Mateusz Skutnik is here!
After the last Submachine (it's been TWO years since the release) we didn't hear from the creator much. We got traditional Where is 2016? and Where is 2017? and that's all. Until now!
The new game is not a long one, but it has everything - beautiful art, good music, quality puzzles and mystery behind the game. It's also reminder of older games like Covert Front, you can almost feel Kara's presence!
The room you are locked in seems like inventor's room - not very tidy, scraps of paper on the floor, stacks of books, coffee mugs - and strange devices around. Click-clack, you can play around with levers, switches and valves on pipes and if you get that big device to work, maybe they hire you...because this is not a game, this is a recruitment process!
The game is download only and it's a pleasure to play it in full screen - much better experience than playing in small window - and Mateusz Skutnik's art deserves good presentation! Also, you get lovely icon on your PC screen!
Enjoy!
Windows:
Get the full version
Mac OS X:
Get the full version
Very nice! Quite short, but I'm expecting good things out of this one. :)
I do wish that I could deselect full screen mode BEFORE I start a game though.
It's my first time hearing of Mateusz Skutnik's Itch page. The amount of stuff available as standalone downloads is incredible!
the Peter Navarre Crecy Evaluation
Please do not remove the props from the evaluation room.
Options menu
After starting the game, you can press Escape for the menu. You can switch the game from fullscreen mode to (resizable) windowed mode, and the game will remember your preference.
Exploration
After a short period of relaxation, you push the red button and enter a projected reality.
Try as you might, you can't pick up the junk off the floor. So let's ignore the chairs, the books, the coins, the tubes… all the tiny distractions, and focus on what you can pick up: the brass key on the floor beneath the clock. On the right, there's a phone with two dials, but nothing happens when you pick it up. On the left, there's a device with three levers and three lights on its front, and a handle that turns on a light on its left. Pick up the document on the ground for some lore. (While examining it, you can use the scrollbar to read the whole thing, and you can destroy it with the button to the left of its "the Evaluation" title).
Turn left to find a large golden device which has a four-legged box and a ring of 10 lights connected by red wire. A portal, perhaps? It's plugged into the wall. On the right, there's a panel with two screws (which looks like it's missing one) and a bluish unlit light over it. There are also two pipes with valve handles that do nothing. On the left, there's a panel on the wall with another unlit bluish light, two small white lights, and symbols that you recognize from the phone.
Turn left. Pick up the top half of the torn note from under the locked door. On the right, there's another two-screw panel under the pipe (that does nothing), a table with an empty drawer and a framed photo of Kaisar and a slider on the door that turns on the bluish light beneath it. (Finally, something you know how to use!) On the left, there's a weird red antenna that's unplugged, two pipes with useless valves and a device with unlit bluish and clear lights and a slot on its top.
Something out-of-place catches your eye. It's the loose floorboard beneath the door that hides a small fuse!
Turn left to a screen with a large portrait on the wall. On the right, there's another two-screw panel, a large knob pointed away from you, a device marked with red dots that's missing a part, and another of those unplugged antennas. On the left, the bottom half of the torn note rests on a yellow tank that drains into a sink that doesn't work, and the panel on the wall can be removed to reveal a golden cog behind.
Since you moved the slider next to the door, the fourth antenna on the portal is now lit, and a spark connects it to one of the lights on the ring.
the Outside
Use the golden key to unlock the large door. It opens up to… nowhere. There is no outside. You can't leave.
When you're done listening to the intense music, click on the doorway to return.
Right Two
Playing around with the lever device, you find that the handle lights up the bottom row of lights according to which levers are down. Have we seen clues for this device?
Each of the panels that has two screws has a different screw missing from a set of three. Let's start with the one at the lower-right of the portal screen, which only has its right two screws in.
Go back to the lever device, flip the center and right levers down, and pull the handle.
The screw panel on the portal screen opens up, revealing some golden clockwork.
So place the golden cog inside, and the clockwork starts running, turning on the second panel antenna.
Two Sides
On the lever device, flip the left and right levers down (and the middle one up), and pull the handle.
Now the screw panel near the door is open, and you can flip the switch inside. What now?
Go back to the screen with the wall portrait. The knob on the right now faces you so you can pick up a lightbulb.
Left Two
On the lever device, flip the left and center levers down (and the right one up), and pull the handle.
Now the screw panel near the portrait is open, and you can place the lightbulb inside to light it up.
If you check the portal again, you'll find that the fifth antenna is now activated.
Red dots
Use the fuse on the red-dotted device to the lower right of the wall portrait.
Three of the dots turn green and a tray with a punch card slides out.
So place the punch card in the other device to the left of the door, which does some quick processing and lights up with a ding.
The middle (third) antenna on the portal is now activated.
Receiver
Use the clues from the torn note halves to dial the phone.
The circle marked on the top half is the third one, so click the top dial twice.
The circle marked on the bottom half is the fourth one, so click the bottom dial once.
Then pick up the receiver, which gives off a loud hum and discharges some power into the wall.
That power ends up in the device on the left of the portal, and you can now turn its knob to activate the final (first) antenna.
Ending
With all the antennas turned on, the portal gives off a green disco ball of light. So click it to view the ending.
Good work! Thanks!
"it's a pleasure to play it in full screen - much better experience than playing in small window"
What!? The Flash games were made with vectors. They could be resized indefinitely without ever loosing quality or requiring 50MB of file size like this game does. You could right click and choose zoom in to confirm that, and appreciate the very little details. It was just the authors fault for locking the SWF dimensions in place instead of letting the game grow with the window. Now with the new platform, the graphics are slightly blurry instead. It's a DOWNGRADE!
Look at the old graphics from Covert Front 4:
https://imgur.com/a/4a2O8
How do the new blurry graphics beat THAT?
The Phenomenon, I just played through the game on a 3000x2000 display without a single blur in sight. I'm not sure he's not using vector, as GameMaker does have limited vector support. Perhaps GameMaker isn't playing well with your graphics card.
Also, playing windowed was a purposeful limitation of his previous games, as you could pay to purchase the full screen versions.
Here's the opening from this game running on my system, which should be spoiler-free for anyone interested:
https://imgur.com/gallery/OIYdx
Rather short but still just as enjoyable regardless! I love that it's themed around Covert Front! I wonder if we'll ever see more games related to that story? I loved them so much.
Interesting. Several items are completely optional, namely the:
Document
Photo
Key
Update