As Stubby Games’ debut title, The Entropy Centre offers players a unique puzzle solving experience. The Entropy Centre reminds me of the Portal games, with a solo Puzzle Operative on a space station. Using the entropy device, you can rewind time on objects. You’ve been tasked with rewinding Earth before its current catastrophe. Build up your entropy energy to rewind Earth and save humanity.
Takeaways
Pros
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Innovative puzzles.
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Solve well-thought-out puzzles.
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Detail-oriented.
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Introducing/tutorial 01 puzzles.
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The release is bug-free.
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Variation in puzzle difficulty.
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Dialogue and acting are great.
Cons
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Defeat the bots and find switches to lift lockdown.
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Poor run sequences (get to B while the Centre collapses).
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I didn’t feel inclined to find all 76 notes.
Final Rating: 7.5/10
Videogame Creativity and Intentionality
I liked that each Act and its puzzles seemed purposefully designed. It was refreshing to have varying difficulties within a single act. This gave me the opportunity to recharge my puzzle-solving brain juices, so I never felt the need to pause.
Even at the much later, more challenging stages in the game, some puzzles were a lot easier than others. Prior to Act 7, the puzzles weren’t overly challenging or complicated. Act 7 changed the game into something that required you to really sit down and think about the solution. Everything prior felt like a mental build-up towards the boss fight. It wasn’t until I reached this Act that I wondered if I could actually beat this game without guides.
When Act 10 hit, I lost all hope. My average puzzle-solving time of 3 minutes became 11 minutes and then 15 minutes. I felt tricked by Acts 1-6, making me think I was good at puzzle games.
An innovative, clever, intuitive, and well-executed entropy device was introduced. Its extendable platforms worked perfectly. In recent AAA games, creativity is rarely seen or executed correctly, but the Entropy Centre’s puzzles are well thought out and brilliantly executed. The eureka moment of finding the solution is one of the greatest feelings a puzzle game can offer its players.
