As usual, the Ludum Dare competition has produced some amazing efforts from talented developers working against the clock. The entry ‘Abandoned’ by developer Noel Berry is definitely one such effort. The theme of this most recent Ludum Dare is ‘Alone’ and this game most certainly captures it. The words “It was cold and dark. I was alone” flash across the screen.

You start off as a space-man in a small room. There is a monitor here and there and what look like containment chambers, some of them flashing red to indicate they are empty and others flashing green to indicate the presence of something. The walls have grisly cracks in them and the whole area seems to be in a state of disrepair. The environment in the game was really well designed and I really did get the feeling of loneliness from this space man, to the point where I was wondering why someone would be so insensitive to abandon him.

The gameplay revolves around a fun little mechanic where you can grapple to move between the floor and the walls. Later, you can pick up crates with your gravity mechanic and use them to weigh down switches so you can deactivate lasers and get to the exit. Overall, it’s a bleak game and in between levels bits of text flash across the screen that tell the story piecemeal and offer somber realizations. If the game is a bit of a downer at times , it’s hardly Berry’s fault considering he was working with the theme ‘Alone’ which isn’t exactly a barrel of sunshine. Through the text, you do learn that the containment chambers were used to house clones, and you are a clone that has apparently been woken up by computer in a space station. You’ve been abandoned after something went wrong. And the station appears to be malfunctioning, so y’know, time to cheese it.

Even though they only have a few elements, the puzzles are fun and they do get a bit trickier towards the end. I really enjoyed the design and it struck a bit of an emotional chord with me. If you like games about loneliness, give it a shot.

[Abandoned]

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