The Entropy Centre Review (Illusive Man)
I do not really know how to grade this game. On one hand it could be a worthy successor to Portal, on the other it misses the mark. Impressive work as for one-man team and I like the idea behind this game, but not its execution.
Portal, the inevitable comparison standard, can be called a "pure puzzle game" in that it is all about the discovery and next "aha!" moment. Many games tried doing the same and few succeeded.
Entropy Centre has the "big task", some lore, companion, puzzles, interesting main mechanic and enemies. Focusing on the puzzles alone and disregarding its story (it is a loop anyway, Owlman quotes galore) there is not that much to say about them. You can cheese some (of course), slog through others, but at the end it is all the same. It feels the same.
Besides that, the tedium mostly boils down to one thing - checkpoints. They are too far apart, forcing players to go through the same sequence again, again and again if they fail. Fun fact: collectible email lore bits are not permanently saved, prepare to read them again if restarting from checkpoint.
Overall game feels too long. It is as if after half the game we haven't really gotten anywhere. Nothing really changes. Entire game is like one or two gigantic levels and not a set of "testing rooms". Again, I like the concept, but playing through this is... for now not what I would like.
Edit: Later addition after another attempt at 100% or at least finishing this game.
1) Can't raise objects above eye level despite not holding them physically, turning some viable solutions impossible.
2) Lightbridge cubes work only in one specific orientation on flat terrain and have limited range. This means placing one on stairs to use as a ramp is impossible. Besides, why literal "hard light" bridge has limited range? Place invisible wall if you don't want us falling off the map!
3) Main character apparently suffered enough damage during endless loops that she's forgot how to crouch, run or jump higher than 10cm at best. In Portal jumping on samey-sized cubes gets you into some seemingly unreachable places or is used as part of a puzzle.
I may be overly harsh on this game, as it has unique concept that I like (well.. time manipulation is not "unique" unique because Singularity, Time Shift, Archon and a bunch of other games exist), said it two times already. It's just half-there on the way to realizing own potential as an actual puzzle game.
Good puzzle game gives players tools, rules and a goal to work towards. It teaches mechanics leaving out specifics of the solution. It is hard to design levels with multiple paths, glitches that 99% won't use and "harder but technically possible" solutions. “Feature list” above is what IMO limits player creativity, replacing it with an implicit requirement to find one solution the dev left for us as the only way to get through a level. I could come up with something creative if only had little bit more to work with. Unconventional solutions should produce more entropy energy and be encouraged, right?
In conclusion: closing remarks of original review and entirety of it in full still stand: playing through this is... for now not what I would like.