Developer Phigames

Publisher Dear Villagers

Format PC, PS5, Xbox Series (tested)

Release Out now

Phigames’ expansive, obstreperous Metroid-like is a world of sharp edges – which should be apparent from the screens across the page. The developer commits fully to its distinctive aesthetic, from the heavy bloom that emanates from every light source (including your avatar, an anthropomorphic program charged with infiltrating a vast world simply called the Mainframe) to the jittery objects that gradually assume solid form as you approach. In places it takes the breath away: the place may be fragmented, but there is an eerie beauty to its sprawling landscapes, particularly when you find a high vantage point and gaze down on its strange, distinctive arrangements of complex circuitry and abstract architecture. If everyone’s PC looked like this on the inside, we’d all be ordering transparent cases.

Striking as it looks, these visuals are among a series of small problems that collectively sap your will to continue. Recompile is difficult, and by that we don’t mean it’s hard to beat. We’ve experienced far steeper challenges than the ones presented here (though the boss fights are exacting in a way that will have you putting them off as long as you possibly can), but it’s been a while since we felt quite so consistently annoyed by a game. There are innumerable small irritants. A tiny, barely perceptible gap between two platforms. Then another, masked by the excessive bloom given off by a nearby light source. A third, this time in a dark area, our avatar’s own glow hiding it from view. When a crack in a glass platform positioned at a vertiginous height causes us to fall for a full 30 seconds before dying – this particular part of the Mainframe being so needlessly large it takes that long to hit the floor – we’re almost tempted to consider a career change.