Metrico Review
I’ve been looking forward to for Metrico for months. Most platformers released recently have either gone all out with a retro look, or tried to stand out by doing something unique, not always succesfully. Metrico caught my eye because it not only looks amazing, but because it apparently had levels that adapted to your play. This is a platformer about info-graphics. Most beautiful designs in the info-graphics department are limited to a few websites or as images on dribbble – but this is a game centred around them.
Metrico is all about exploring, persisting, and succeeding in a puzzle-platformer environment. Every level in a world is unique, and different mechanics are introduced as you progress. Each world has levels that are more or less visually similar, and you control a person who is running, jumping, and shooting projectiles to reach the goal of a level. Metrico makes full use of the Vita sensors like the gyroscope. In one particular level in the fourth world, I found myself having completed it while the vita was facing upwards, and I looked like I had just won a game of Twister – and this just adds to the charm. Some puzzles seem impossible at first, but taking a break and coming back to finish them in one go thanks to a breakthrough, makes the game very rewarding.
Controls are very straightforward at first. You use the left analog stick and D-Pad to move, and X to jump. As the game progresses, mechanics like tilt control, restarting from checkpoints, and even the ability to completely reset a level are introduced. It is great to see a developer actually use the touchscreen for menu navigation. I’m sick of the Vita getting ports where developers completely ignore the touch-elements. Metrico even uses the back touchpad in some levels to let you aim your projectiles, and it feels natural – a rare succesful use of the rear touchpad. The way different mechanics are introduced in levels is really great, because there’s no sense of feeling overwhelmed at all. Exploring and experimenting are the most important things to keep in mind while playing this. The unique mechanics in each world really make the game fun.
Metrico has a lot of eye candy. It is one of those games which was made for screen-grabs. There’s no two ways about it, the visuals are minimally stunning, and even the interface elements for menu navigation are perfect. Digital Dreams have managed to maintain a consistently great look in each world. Even the launch screen and game logo looks fantastic. On completing a world, you are taken to a room that has two doors on each side. There’s a pie chart in the middle telling you which door what percentage of players went through. Digital Dreams really love their info-graphics. Even the website for the game has counters and charts tracking your mouse pointer.
In terms of audio, the sound effects have been done very tastefully, but in some levels the music gets a little repetitive. In a game that involves the player spending a lot of time in a particular level, there’s definitely room for improvement here. Take OlliOlli as an example: I spent three hours completing one of the levels in the penultimate stage of the game and didn’t get tired of listening to the music one bit. Metrico’s soundtrack isn’t one that you will be listening to a lot outside the game.
The major drawback here, though, is the performance. There is huge slowdown as you go from one world to another, and even basic things like the developer logo appearing seem to drop frames. For a game that is exclusive to the Vita, I never thought I’d see performance issues that you see in poorly ported games like Borderlands 2. If you happen to switch to another app and return to Metrico, the game becomes borderline unplayable for about twenty seconds; I had to relaunch the game twice because of this. The loading times also seem to be quite bad sometimes, which is disappointing. There’s also a lack of a hint system, which is either brilliant or horrible for you. I really wish there was one in some levels. One in particular took me a good hour and a half.
VERDICT: Barring the performance issues that will hopefully be patched, Metrico is a great example of a game that uses the Vita’s hardware properly. It is immensely fun to play and the puzzles never get monotonous. If you love platform games, you absolutely have to experience Metrico. And if you’re an info-graphic lover, this is your holy grail game.
VERY GOOD. An 8/10 is only awarded to a game we consider truly worthy of your hard-earned cash. This game is only held back by a smattering of minor or middling issues and comes highly recommended.
Review code provided by publisher.
