Exographer review

As you’d probably expect: I play a whole lot of video games. Because of this it’s not particularly common for me to struggle with a game, although for the most part that’s thanks to this wonderfully accessible period of gaming we find ourselves in. There are times though where a game is too difficult or clever for this little head of mine, and the struggle becomes real. Exographer is a game that is absolutely way too clever for someone who hasn’t thought about science lessons in well over a decade, but it’s undeniably a very interesting game.

In Exographer you play as one of the titular Exographers on a rescue mission. About ten seconds of a cutscene later your little space scientist is teleported to an alien planet that’s requesting your help, and only with the technology the Exographers have at their disposal and your knowledge of particles will you be able to save the day. There’s a lot of dense science lore you’ll find on your adventure to flesh out this adventure regarding “absurd materials” and other technical terms, but I’d rather not expose myself as a physics dunce here and attempt to explain any more about it.

At its core Exographer is a puzzle platformer, with one particularly interesting twist. The very first tool you find on your adventure is a camera, which you can use to take photos of your surroundings to scan them or to see invisible particle beams that are important for a puzzle. Any photo you take can be teleported to the location of at the push of a button on your in game tablet, meaning that if you get stuck or need to move to the other side of a chasm after opening a new door you can do so with ease. It’s a really clever system that is used in a variety of clever ways, and makes the puzzles really sing.

All sorts of familiar and not so familiar puzzles stand in your path in Exographer, like finding ways to direct beams with various tubes or finding codes hidden in the environment. The variety is simply wonderful, although once you get into the meatier science side of the game you may be somewhat put off if you’re looking for an easy ride.

Upon taking photos of certain energy emitting places in Exographer you’ll need to analyse the photos to learn what the particles are that are shown. This is done by looking at various types of lines that connect to each other and figuring out which of them correlate with the tiles at the bottom of your screen. You’ll unlock all sorts of tools that assist with this as you progress further into the game, like one that allows you to see if lines are straight or squiggly (I’ll admit there’s definitely a scientific term missing here), one that helps indicate the direction of the particle’s energy, and even a zoom tool that helps you uncover even deeper layers of lines to investigate. Despite being based on real world particle investigation these sections function as engaging puzzles for a video game, although some may find them a little dense even at the speed new elements are introduced.

Some aspects of Exographer really require you to be in a logical thinking mood and engage your brain pretty intensely, but others like the exploration are far more easy to jump into. Exographer is essentially a Metroidvania, with new powers you’ll unlock as you progress that allow you to backtrack and find new stuff. An energy field ability allows your little scientist to cling to certain vines and walk straight through blocks made of a particular material. Then there’s a special boot upgrade that allows you to walk on some walls and ceilings to reach new areas, and another ability that allows you to move chunks of material entirely to reach new places. Using these abilities together is really entertaining, and makes exploring the beautiful pixel art world even more enjoyable.

Exographer is a wonderful game with a love of science unmatched among its peers, but it does have a few issues that some won’t appreciate. The learning curve in the particle puzzles is pretty damn steep, and it took me a while to really feel comfortable that I knew what I was doing when they popped up. There’s also a whole lot of scientific text in both the lore and your puzzle solving journal that if you’re not scientifically minded will go straight over your head, and ultimately make the game harder to play as a result.

Exographer feels like the best science homework you could ever possibly hope for, with mentally taxing but clever puzzles and a wonderful world to explore. The platforming puzzles in particular are a joy to solve, but some will struggle to get to grips with the denser particle identifying side of the game. If physics are what get you going then Exographer will likely be a very special game for you, but even those that are scientifically rusty will find a lot to love in this thoughtful game.