Instantion Review

By , on April 17, 2014
Last modified 10 years, 6 months ago


Instantion
Download on the AppStore
4 out of 5

PROS

  • Nice visual design
  • Interesting clone mechanic
  • Its willingness to let you struggle makes finding solutions incredibly satisfying

CONS

  • Imprecise controls frustrate
  • Technical bugs occasionally forced us to restart the game

VERDICT

Instantion is a satisfying and challenging action puzzle game, that occasionally strumbles due to imprecise controls.


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Like many of the best teachers, Instantion doesn't tell you the answers. From the very beginning, the 2.5D action puzzler is quite happy to leave you struggling with challenges, in the expectation that you'll eventually suss them out for yourself. This fits neatly with the game's virtual wire-frame world, which gives you the sense you're running simulated experiments under laboratory conditions.

You have to hop your avatar over obstacles, and activate doors and bridges to get to the exit. While the controls are all intuitive, the animation makes everything feel a bit sluggish. This quickly become frustrating in later puzzles as the struggle to deliver the precision the puzzles demand.

Once you have the basics down, Instantion introduces in its main mechanic: the ability to clone yourself. Holding the screen will cause a line to spring from your avatar, allowing you choose where you want to place your doppleganger.

You can create up to three clones at any one time. Each follows the same inputs as the primary avatar, with all of them jumping and running in time with one another. The trick is to use these obedient facsimiles to trigger switches, open doors, and activate pressure pads which would otherwise be impossible to reach.

What Instantion manages to do, however, is give you just enough clues to work out each puzzle.There are some steep difficult spikes, as there are often a lot of variables at play. You'll find yourself firing clones off in all direction trying to discover the perfect combination of character placement and input commands to clear the road ahead. 

Instantion's puzzles can be hugely challenging at times, testing both your forward planning abilities and reactions. Though sometime the controls can frustrate, the satisfaction you feel when best each stage makes up for the game's less polished moments.

Screenshots

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