A first-person narrative-driven puzzle game, Faraday Protocol was developed by Red Koi Box and is being published by Deck13. It’s out for PCs and consoles and we checked it out on a PlayStation 4 Pro.
Sometimes a game description leaves you wondering what on earth you’re going to be playing. This was certainly the case with Faraday Protocol, which reads “As you deploy from your spaceship, you find yourself in a mysterious place. Your name is Raug Zeekon, from planet Cunor. Your motto: “Explore, Exploit, Expose”. Solve complicated puzzles and discover the hidden secrets of Opis.” Beyond the word “puzzle”, I had no clue. Turns out that Faraday Protocol is a bit like Q.U.B.E. 2 – and that’s language I understand and like.
The actual narrative is, as you might have inferred from the above, a bit of a mystery. The place you end up in is reminiscent of the movie Stargate with its ancient Egypt-flavored look, though the puzzles are technology based. You’ll often use a gun to absorb a certain color/energy signature, only to use it elsewhere (see: Q.U.B.E. 2). There are a lot of different variations on this as you go around changing dials, lining up symbols and pressing buttons, but fans of narrative-driven 3D puzzle games should feel right at home here.
This even extends to the presence of an AI called IRIS – another staple in 3D puzzle games, it seems. There are collectibles for those who enjoy exploring (you can pick up any missing ones using a level select option), but the bulk of the experience are the puzzles – with some story development peppered in between as you discover traces that were left behind or converse with IRIS.
Echoing elements of Portal, Q.U.B.E. and The Sojourn, Faraday Protocol is another solid recommendation for puzzle fans who enjoy a campaign where both the narrative and the core puzzle element are gradually built out for them. It’s not the longest game, but the price tag reflects this.
Score: 7.5/10
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