Forma.8 (Nintendo Switch) Review

Forma.8 was initially released on the Wii U back in 2015, before being made available for phones, tablets, PC and PS4 back in late February. Devoid of any real story, except the abstract outline that you're a robot drone crash-landed on an alien planet, this very visceral and atmospheric experience sets its own tone and pace with confidence.

The design of this world, while simple, really is evocative and stunning at times, especially since the title is so conscious about creating contrasts. Dark and gloomy, tight and constricted passages, with laser traps and various types of environmental puzzles, eventually give way to sprawling and colourful vistas that make no effort to box the player in, creating a palpable sense of relief in the player as they emerge into the open. These shifts seem to be central to the gameplay here, which really does help to leave a lasting impression.

If one were to print stills of the entire game, or just look back over the countless screen caps most players will likely chalk up throughout, they'd reveal a particularly thoughtful approach to the progression of colour, which really does leave a lasting impression across the full breadth of the game. It's likely that keeping the 2D art style so clean and simple helps to accentuate this, but the developers certainly should be applauded for making such an effort, since it ends up being such a distinct aspect of the overall experience and is often overlooked.

This attention to detail also pays off since it makes each space feel more distinct and progressive in a natural sense, rather than simply a series of smaller areas that are interconnected only through a map. Different and interesting varieties of audio textures also help to distinguish and colour each part of the world, and these mostly visceral qualities each provide a measure of gratification when a new ability or item opens a new area to be discovered.

Forma.8 can be quite a relaxing experience at times, then, but it's also quite challenging. There's a considerable variety of enemies encountered along the way, all of which require separate tactics and approaches, and there are also some boss and mini-boss encounters that can be tough depending on what piece of gear is required. While the puzzles, key collecting and navigating aspects are enjoyable (though sometimes overwhelming due to the lack of a map and HUD elements), the floaty movement, which implies a good deal of momentum, makes a lot of the enemy encounters that require precision very hard work.

If there's one area where the title falls short, it would have to be here, since it leads to so many frustrating moments. Granted, while some of these issues of precision are alleviated as different abilities are acquired, it seems rather gruelling to have to suffer some of these moments on a regular basis. The best illustration is the first combination of abilities, using the pulse to bounce remote bombs that the drone drops to hit enemies and surfaces, which is far more difficult than it needs to be. Additionally, it seems bemusing that you can't use the d-pad, even when playing docked with a Pro Controller.

Forma.8 also suffers from some rather retro-centric notions of difficulty, with one particularly annoying example of this being the lack of checkpoints. Some areas really are huge, often with environmental hazards that need to be carefully navigated to avoid an untimely demise. It's incredibly frustrating being ousted by the final step of the navigational puzzle and being returned to the entrance of the room feels like too big of a slap in the face, especially considering the demands the game makes of the player in combat. To be frank, there's really no reason these sections, where there aren't enemies, need to be punishing to that extent, especially since these moments often test the gamer's will to push on.

This leads to the last point about this game experience, which is simply that it may be too big. While there's absolutely no doubt that avid fans of the Metroidvania genre may find themselves engrossed all the way to the end, given how slowly the title's progress percentage indicator has ticked up, there's a good chance not everyone who starts it will follow it through. This is partly because an abstract story doesn't provide much incentive, but mostly because it just seems unnecessarily large. One of the key things for a game that depicts a journey in such abstract terms is knowing when to wrap things up. Unfortunately, Forma.8 loses sight of this issue a bit, being a little too long in the tooth for many to complete.