I played a game called Awkward Date and as the name implies, it was pretty damn awkward, at least at first. This is a game that takes the concept of communicating with your partner and takes it to a whole other level, literally.
Awkward Date is a multiplayer puzzle game where you and a friend must control two characters that are on a “Date”. But that “Date” involves solving platforming puzzles. It plays like a typical platformed however, there is one catch: You can’t be too far or too close to your partner. What happens is as you move away from or approach your partner an icon with a face appears. It gets warmer and burns if you are too close or gets cold and freezes if you are too far. If you let either of these happen for too long your characters lose a life and you have to restart the whole level again. While there are unlimited lives, there is a number in the top right corner just to remind you how many tries it took for you two to make it through that level. In order to clear a stage you and your partner need to make it to a specific spot at the same time.
This sounds like a very basic game but the mechanic I mentioned above makes it really interesting and a unique experience. Just like in a real relationship, communication is key and you and your partner need to communicate if you want to stand a chance at getting through the challenging stages Awkward Date throws at you. Having to solve the platforming puzzles while at the same time keeping an apropriate distance from your partner made the experience a lot of fun. I look forward to seeing the developers expand on this concept and create some levels that will truly test the player’s skill and patience.
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