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7th Sector Review: Cyberpunk Puzzler Makes You Think Outside The Box
It's easy to say that 7th Sector won't appeal to all gamers, but for those who like to solve puzzles and discover the secrets of an abstract storyline, this title is a must-play. Revealing its secrets through gameplay, 7th Sector is a cyberpunk puzzle adventure that takes the idea of puzzle games into new territory.
Players begin their life inside 7th Sector as a shadowy figure on a television set. But somehow, this figure can morph into a tiny spark. This spark of energy must travel along a series of wires, triggering machines to open doors to allow it to continue its way forward. Eventually, the spark can take over machinery, including electronic balls to large robotic dog-like creatures that can shoot their way through enemies. There are however, no tutorials, and while traveling through the game, the player must solve a series of puzzles to keep moving on. The puzzles are as varied as the things that the spark can inhabit, and include easy jigsaw-like challenges to contrivances that will require the player to remember everything they learned in high school algebra.
To say that these puzzles are often difficult is an understatement, but there's a real feeling of accomplishment when figuring them out and moving on to the next level. Forget about looking for walkthroughs, too, because many of these puzzles change with each playthrough. Each level of the game offers up details about the game's setting, a cyberpunk city of the future, while also telling an abstract story that at times feels a lot like The Matrix, particularly towards the end. How players make their way through each level, though, affects the outcome of the story. This, along with the changing puzzles, gives the game good replay value.
The only issue players might find with 7th Sector has to do with its controls. It's easy to move the spark from wire to wire, but once the spark is inhabiting something like a remote-controlled toy car, things get a little tricky. The controls work great in moving from left to right and vice versa, but when a player needs to move an object in three dimensions, the controls can make those efforts frustrating.
Where 7th Sector shines, though, is with its mood. There is no dialogue, only sound effects and music that set the scene. The graphics are gorgeous and lend themselves to the futuristic dystopia the player finds themselves in, and the visual style is nothing short of extraordinary. The feeling this game gives the player is akin to Limbo, another "simple" sidescrolling platform game that knew how to use atmosphere to evoke emotion. This is especially true when players fully realize the game's true story.
Again, though, 7th Sector isn't for everyone: this is a challenging puzzle game that can get frustrating at times. However, those up for the challenge will find their intellects stimulated by the unique puzzles, but also sucked in by the story the game ultimately wants to tell.
7th Sector is available for PC and will arrive on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on February 5, 2020.
