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| Murphy chomping circuit boards to get to an infotron |
| Quick Info | |
|---|---|
| Reviewed by: | Mark Goninon |
| Developer: | inArcade (original - Think!Ware Development) |
| Publisher: | inArcade (original - Digital Integration) |
| Release Date: | Steam - 9 May 2018 (original - 1991) |
| Time played: | 1 hours (INCOMPLETE) |
A Short History of a Red Ball and His Circuits
There aren't many games that I played in my youth that I have in common with my wife. In fact, I wasn't really expecting there to be much overlap at all but one day I stumbled upon a game on Steam that I thought looked really familiar: it was Supaplex! A puzzle game where you guided a red ball called Murphy as he traversed levels that looked like circuit boards. When I booted it up and gave it a shot, to my surprise my wife commented she had also played the game before when she was a kid. When she says she "played" the game though, I think she actually knew what she was doing, successfully clearing the levels one by one. I, on the other hand, feel like I mucked around, not really getting anywhere, and hung around in-game to enjoy the DOS version's groovy theme tune by David Whittaker.
But what is the history of this game and how did it end up on Steam in 2018? Sadly, it's quite hard to find some information about this game but this is what I've managed to piece together. The game was originally developed by two Swiss students Philip Jespersen and Michael Stopp and published by Digital Integration in 1991 for the Amiga. A DOS version followed shortly after in 1992 which is the version both my wife and I originally played. The game was apparently inspired by the much older Boulder Dash from 1984, so I guess you could say that Supaplex is like Boulder Dash for millennials. A fan and game developer that runs a cute Web 1.0 site called Elmer Productions mentions that at some point, they developed a level editor and wanted permission from the creators and Digital Integration to distribute the game as freeware. They agreed, and this is probably a good reason the game became so popular. To this day there are still websites dedicated to the distributing of Supaplex levels as well as an official blog run by the original developers, although its only use is to post testimonials about the game.
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| One of the few levels I was able to complete was a simple maze |
Anyway, two decades after the original release of the game on the Amiga in 2011, the game was released onto iOS as a mobile game by a developer called Danila Gorozhanin. The game eventually makes its way onto Android devices in 2018 and this is also when the Windows version is released on Steam. Visiting the official site, there isn't much information on how this game relates to the original (besides being based off the same source code) nor whether the original developers are in any way associated with this release. I assumed it was just a re-release of the original but it's actually more than that, but first let's go into the details of what this game is about.
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| That's a lotta infotrons you gotta collect |
Similar Gameplay but with Slight Improvements
As mentioned before, you play the role of a red Pac-Man like ball called Murphy. There are a whopping 111 levels in the game and all of them involve navigating Murphy to the level exit, ensuring he collects a requisite number of "infotrons" along the way. There are many obstacles to prevent Murphy reaching his goal, such as Zonks (which can roll onto Murphy's head and cause him to explode), scissor-like enemies called Snik Snaks (which when in contact with Murphy will cause him to explode) and RAM Chip walls (they just get in the way but you'll often be expected to use explosions to get past them). Murphy is also able to use floppy disks (anybody remember those things?) as bombs.
The basics of the gameplay are the same, so how is this 2018 version different to the original? Well, this version feels more like a remaster that brings a bunch of Quality of Life features. The resolution of the graphics is sharper than the original and you even get to hear remixes of the original Supaplex theme if you hang around long enough. Also, your progress in a level is timed and points are awarded for how quickly you can solve a level. The Steam version of the game is integrated with leaderboards so you can compare how well you do against your friends and the general gaming public. The best update by far is the ability to save games during a level. In the original game, your progress would only be saved after completing a level but in this version you can save progress mid-level. This helps to reduce the difficulty of the game which I think is a good thing which brings us to our final point…
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| While it's quite possible to blow up and die, getting trapped by Zonks is probably more likely |
Old School Gameplay Equals Difficult
While those already familiar with the original might think it's blasphemy that the game has been made easier, I still find the game to be rather challenging. You'll require a lot of patience, problem-solving skills and coordination to make it through each of the levels. The only levels I found simple enough to complete with minimal effort were the first two levels (and one of them is just a maze). Most of the time you'll reach dead ends by performing actions in the wrong order. Move to the wrong place and/or the wrong time and you can often trap yourself under a pile of Zonks. Some levels might be quite straight forward in terms of what you're meant to do but then your biggest enemy will be your dexterity and the ability to time your actions perfectly. Despite being able to save the game mid-level, the levels themselves are quite large, often requiring you to collect over 100 infotrons in order to progress and you're going to have to work that grey matter if you want to make it. The game can be quite unforgiving like many puzzle games of yesteryear which means there will be lots of trial and error before you figure it out and for some, that's what is fun about the game, but for others, your mileage may vary.
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7
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A remastered version of a classic puzzle game that can only be recommended to those that really love the genre. Or remixes of retro music by David Whittaker. |
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