There are five levels to explore within Degrees of Separation, all of which are accessed from the home region known as The Castle. This means that the developers over at Moondrop have ensured Degrees of Separation has all the key ingredients to make players care about the game’s protagonists. What it doesn’t have in length however, it certainly makes up for in character with the relationship between both Ember and Rime slowly blossoming as the game goes on each reliant on the other to move on. For an evening of co-op gaming though it’s not a bad way to spend your time. With no real reason to be going back over things once you’ve done it either, it’s certainly not something you can make a day of. Now if you’ve come to this one hoping for a lengthy co-op adventure, then be warned, the whole experience isn’t really going to take you much longer than 6 hours at the very max. Yes, the early puzzles are as simple as heading in with the right character first, but it’s good to see the difficulty slowly ramping up as you go on. It’s not exactly revolutionary to see opposing elements used as a key mechanic in a puzzle game, but even with something as simple as hot and cold, it’s fair to say that it works particularly well. After investigating, both Ember and Rime come across one another only to find a that a shimmering barrier separates them and their unique hot and cold worlds from one another.įrom this point the game is about utilising the different elements of both Ember and Rime, using them together to travel the world and solve the various puzzles and obstacles that present themselves, all as you try to uncover what has caused the sudden changes in each character’s world.
As she is awoken by a roar, she finds that the usual lovely temperatures have turned to a chill, whilst Rime, the one who embraces the cold, has been woken within his frozen ice castle by his lucid dreams and a faint smell of sulphur.
The story begins with Ember, the personification of warmth. Throughout the game, the key focus is on cooperation, with every action made playing a part in working out the many puzzles throughout both characters proving integral to solving the issues at hand. The game has been designed with two players in mind, with one taking on each character, however things can also be played solo – although doing this sees some areas proving a little more challenging. In fact, the experience on offer is one I have thoroughly enjoyed.ĭegrees of Separation is a cooperative, 2D puzzle platforming adventure that sees players take on the role of two contrasting souls, Ember and Rime. Let me apologise now though as I judged this ‘book’ by its cover, and I shouldn’t have, as my hours with the game proved me wrong.
Degrees of Separation doesn’t do any of that though, and upon booting up and hearing what felt like some overly meaningful piano music and beautiful yet eerily silent game backgrounds on the press start screen, I was thinking I may just be in for a depressing ride.
Going back to cover art for a moment though and call me shallow but there’s little I love more when booting up a new game and seeing vibrant colours, bubbly menus and an exciting artstyle to help it stand out from the other games in my library. If now though you’re ready to move on from the blockbusters and take on something a little calmer, something that can present a memorable and enjoyable experience, then this little indie gem could be just the game for you. In the case of Degrees of Separation, those titans were Metro Exodus and Far Cry: New Dawn, AAA games that occupied the same launch week as this indie offering. Sometimes a game can come along out of nowhere, sit itself quietly amongst the countless other games available and wait patiently for someone to discover the hidden gem it is.
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