Flywrench – A frenetic action game from the makers of Nidhogg about piloting an aerobatic ship through the depths of space.
Looking at the trailer I was sceptical about Flywrench I can not pinpoint why but I didn’t expect much of it, but about four levels into the game I realised what I was playing, An action flap skill based maze thing that fits the easy to learn hard to master category perfectly and I liked it. The graphical style makes me think about Defender but that’s most likely because the game feels like an 80’s arcade game with the sound of your ship exploding (You will hear this a lot) reinforcing this.
The goal of Flywrench is to pilot your ship to the end of each level without exploding, you explode by touching the sides of the level and coloured barriers, Unless the barrier is white then you can fly right through as long as you are not pressing any buttons, if the barrier is red you must be holding “X” along with yellow barriers to pass those you must be holding “O” although this does make your ship spin and with the sides of the level also been yellow you will ricochet and bounce about most likely to your own detriment, finally if the barrier is pink don’t touch that at all you will explode.
Talking about exploding Flywrench’s pacing is great when you inevitably explode you have a single second to reflect on your failure and they you are back in the air…well space. And if that was not enough this game has caused orange to be my third favourite colour it was second but its extra strong gravity cause us to fall out. Like most people I enjoy a discussion on the concept of reality, how is has plenty of verisimilitude but is ultimately limited to what we can observe and experience, With anything else not been relevant to any of us, while it all been possible that nothing is actually “Real” including the things we observe and experience along with things outside of this possibly affecting us although surely that would count as us experiencing them….maybe…sorta.
I bring up this as you get to a new planet (Set of levels) the Flywrench pops up with some random quotes and lines of dialog that mention the concepts of reality, Although it seems the main idea is that by reaching the end of each level you are boosting the strength of a signal, that sounds pretty important and seems to be the “Story” but with the sound of my ship exploding on repeat in my head I really was not ready to do any hypothetical thinking.
With a minimalistic approach to everything but the music, Flywrench fits together very nicely nothing seems out of place as expected the levels become more difficult as you progress along with a steady introduction of game mechanics with some levels been designed in a way to show/teach you these mechanics without the need for any tutorial text. Although with the speed some levels can be completed in going back to the menu every time seems a little odd I did expect the game to just keep me on track but you need to select a level each time you complete one if anything a quick “Next level” “level selection” prompt at the end of a level would be much better. As I mentioned earlier nothing out of place graphically, Flywrench doesn’t need to be dressed up any differently to be fun and challenging. Although if you are not happy with the default colour scheme the “Theme” tab in options will be right up your alley, I did try it but all the colours changed (As expected mind) and with colour been important here, I quickly changed back to the original theme.
I was enjoying the music while playing the good amount of synth, drum tracks, funk lounge? and other sub-genres, All fitting to the pace of the game. I also now have Flywrench to blame for me discovering twelve new artists that make a mix of miscellaneous music genres that I enjoy listening too, It also appears I’m now making a habit of listening to the soundtracks of the game I’m writing about – It’s a good listen I recommend it.
Game Hype received a review code from the Evolve Terminal
You can purchase Flywrench on Steam here: http://store.steampowered.com/app/337350/
