Traverser
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for Traverser
A wonderful art style and interesting setting can't make Traverser's shallow puzzles and exasperating stealth sequences acceptable.
Traverser boasts a fun presentation, but the gameplay doesn't always follow suit.
The challenges in Traverser are not poorly designed, merely underwhelming. To Gatling Goat Studios' credit, many can be approached in a couple of different ways and it's enjoyable whenever the player has an opportunity to feel as though they have subverted the intended solution. As there's only light violence and Valerie's capabilities are mostly defensive, the game's content could work for a younger audience. Parents may want to do a solo playthrough (which should take 3-4 hours) or watch a video of the conclusion before sitting down with the kids, though.
Traverser puts players in the role of Valerie Bennett, who has the freedom to move between a floating city's upper and lower halves in a journey to free her father and uncover the truth. Although the game has a nice atmosphere, complete with a gravity manipulation glove for puzzles, Traverser can get weighted down with wasted potential.
From a gravity glove copped from Half-Life to a story with too many missing pieces, Gatling Goat's first game never finds firm footing
If you like the idea of a gravity gun and you enjoy puzzle games with unique settings, Traverser is a no brainer, even though you'll need to use yours to finish it.
Traverser boasts a fascinating world and an interesting premise, but the game's overly simplistic gameplay and lack of challenge prevent it from living up to its full potential.
In all, Traverser creates a compelling world with numerous interesting quirks and a solid story. While the puzzles aren't what they likely could be, given the intriguing design and mechanics, they're also not so awful as to make the experience entirely dull.
