Publisher(s): Venn Studios
Platform(s): PC (Steam), Xbox, PlayStation, Switch
Release Date: TBD 2027
Developer Game Information Link
Paradoxical will mess with your head, and I mean that in the best way possible. This game, developed by gubebra and being published by Venn Studios, was one of the games I was most intrigued to try out at this year’s GDC Festival of Gaming at the Brazilian Games booth.
The concept of my Paradoxical demo was deceptively simple: I had to get to the end of the stage, and I had two portals at my disposal to get there. Of course, how I used those portals and how I got to the end of the stage was up to me. If this sounds like Valve’s Portal game as a gameplay concept, then you would be correct. What sets this game apart, though, is the fact you can grab a portal ball, throw it onto a platform surface, and then MOVE that platform surface wherever you want. This simple, new, mechanic takes Portal and turns it up to eleven. For example: one of the most obvious, blatant, ways is by having a movable portal swallow up a vertical pillar and turn it into a new sideways platform you can jump on. You can also use the movable portal by dropping it down, jumping into it, and flinging yourself out on a higher placed platform elsewhere. If this seems weird or confusing to you, then you should just watch the trailer video below:
Paradoxical is fun, and it is definitely a mind-bending game for people who like their puzzles to make them think in a non-linear way. While I did not get to try any of the features beyond the two portals and the movable platform, I was hooked enough that I did not want to give up until I had solved that particular room. I ended up jumping through portals in a way the developer next to me did not expect me to do, as I eschewed the more ‘obvious’ route to see what I could do. That said, I think my biggest issue with this game is that the controls on grabbing the portal balls and the handles of the movable platform are too exact. More than once, I was having to slow down my puzzle-solving to frustratingly fumble around and try to grab the exact object in the exact way I needed to. Thankfully, the controls otherwise were incredibly intuitive and easy to work (such as rotating and flipping the movable platform around) once I got a handle on it.
Paradoxical does not have a release date at the moment, but it is coming to multiple platforms, and I am really excited for it. If you’re someone that conquered Portal or Portal 2, Paradoxical is a game that will hopefully get you excited to start thinking, once again, with portals. There are additional portals, including worm holes, that I did not get an opportunity to experience in this demo, but the developer told me on the GDC floor that will be in the final game. From what I have seen so far in this demo, though, there is serious potential in Paradoxical for an excellent puzzle-genre game.
What is the most unique way that you’ve solved a portal puzzle?
What kind of additional portals would you like to see in Paradoxical?
Let us know in the comments below!
