I pre-maturely judged this game as Limbo-like, but in doing so I also increased my motivation to play it. Prior is a delightfully constructed puzzle-platformer from krangGAMES. Much of it centers around the unknown, so it’s hard to pick and choose which details to tell you and which to leave out. It’s pretty apparent at the beginning of the game that you know nothing. In fact, this is probably further illustrated by developer’s own description of the game. It goes a little something like this:

Who are you? Where are you? Why are you there? PRIOR: You know nothing.

You move about by using the WASD keys, among a couple of other buttons, and go from area to area attempting to solve puzzles to progress and discover notes with hints as to what has happened to you, who you are, and where you are. There is certainly an air of eeriness throughout Prior. As you go searching for answers — or, at least, it seems — you may come up empty-handed. Much of it is even affected by choice. I can’t discuss this without spoiling the game for you, albeit this is a weak spoiler: there are three endings to the game. Each is tragic in its own way. How you reach them is essentially up to you. There are a number of walkthroughs for the game, most notably on JayIsGames.com, but I suggest piecing the puzzle together yourself.

Simply put, it’s much more rewarding to delve into the dark ambiance of Prior and learn about the environment by yourself. Although some may surely look at the game’s story laughably, those of us who are akin to Flash games and don’t mind suspending disbelief should have no problem connecting with its malaise tone and meaning. Likewise, there are a few interpretations of the story — which takes center stage along with the carefully constructed and wonderfully designed environment.

Prior is a game worth playing, and it’s absolutely free. What you may gain from it, however, may be priceless. See for yourself.

[Prior]