У нас было 4 клавиши для управления, 27 галлюциногенных уровней, три десятка психо-электронных композиций в саундтреке, пол-экрана ослепляющих вспышек и невероятное множество красок всех палитр и оттенков, а также разноцветные сферы, ускорители, щиты неуязвимости, Steam-достижения и различные режимы игры. Не то, что бы это был необходимый запас для поездки на осьминогоподобном транспорте по бесконечному туннелю. Но если начал играть в психоделические гонки, становится трудно остановиться. Единственное что вызывало у меня опасение — это режим ремикса. Нет ничего более безумного, безответственного и испорченного, чем возможность усугубить свой трип с помощью кислотных настроек. Я знал, что рано или поздно мы перейдем и на эту дрянь.

Итог: 30 тысяч упоротых осьминогов из 10

"Do what comes naturally"

Polybius empieza con esta frase que sintetiza el fondo de todos estos juegos que, a falta de una etiqueta mejor, voy a llamar techno-shooters. N2O, Torus Trooper, Rez, Space Giraffe o incluso Super Hexagon. Los mejores techno-shooters funcionan cuando te trasladan a un estado concentración total, ajeno al mundo exterior, donde actúas por reflejos, memoria muscular y pura intuición. Entras a su universo con reglas propias y te dejas llevar, como atravesar un agujero de gusano, como el final de 2001. Donde solo existen estímulos y reacciones. Dyad podría haber aspirado a entrar en el olimpo de estos techno-shooters si se plantease con continuidad y naturalidad. Pero, no se si por el contexto de 2012, no se si por presiones externas, terminó adoptando esta forma de juego de móvil para consola. Por qué esa interfaz, por qué la progresión de tutorial extendido, por qué presentar cada nueva gimmick con su tarea asociada, por qué los niveles tan acotados, por qué interrumpir cada segmento con una gráfica y por qué la puntuación final sobre tres estrellas. Nada tiene sentido con lo que el juego intenta transmitir y que, en escasos momentos, consigue. Su psicodélico final llega tarde, sin contexto y termina por desencantar. Uno de esos casos que queda en un "podría ser, pero no".

Dyad is a game where you…do things in a spiral tunnel. That’s pretty much sums it up. You are a thing and you shoot things as the tunnel whizzes by faster and the tempo of the music picks up. Each stage has an objective such as getting through levels as fast as possible by chaining together the same colored orbs which will give you a speed boost. Running into these orbs slows you down. I felt the shooting levels were the most fun, and there are a lot of levels here so don’t worry.

The biggest issues are the constantly changing colors and the sense of speed. It will make some people size or dizzy. When you’re focusing on something even for a couple of minutes it will make you dizzy. There can be so many colors on screen that you get lost in the craziness and that’s a serious problem. I couldn’t play for long sessions because my eyes would hurt or I would get so confused that I would need a break. Thankfully the environments vary from stage to stage and the enemies get changed up.

It’s not as easy as blasting everything. You need to avoid some things because if you shoot it will hurt you. Some missions just end up being a way to difficult to the point that you can barely pass the minimum requirements. This is all due to the crazy colors and the weird sense of speed. You can see your lane as far as the game will let you. At least you don’t have to wait for things to come up right on you to shoot. This adds a bit of strategy as you spin around the tunnel trying to think ahead of your moves. For a while, it feels pretty awesome to think on your toes and line up the perfect path for the highest score. There’s really nothing much else to say here, you have to play it to see how fun it can be. This game isn’t for everyone though, if you are sensitive to motion sickness and flashing colors I would stay away.

Dyad is a rare game that doesn’t come around very often. While it may slip under everyone’s radar for that big blockbuster title, it reminds us how the simpler games can still be fun. The action can be too hectic and can get lost it the ocean of rainbow colors swirling around the screen, but there are plenty of levels here to keep you busy and a great soundtrack to listen to.