Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Backlog Conquering - Teslagrad On PS4 - Part 4 - Continued Platforming Frustrations


This is part 4 of playing the #PlayStation4 version of Teslagrad, from developers Rain AS, as part of Backlog Conquering. 

In the 3 parts i've recorded so far, what i've enjoyed the most was learning about the world and trying to understand the story. sometimes the game told it's story via theatre productions, other times it was like looking at cave paintings. Unfortunately, this doesn't appear to be the main focus of the game. in Teslagrad, the puzzle platforming seems to be the focus and it's this that i've enjoyed the least. 

Across the previous 3 parts and this video, i've often felt that the puzzles are doable but the platforming itself isn't good enough for what the game is often requiring you to do. It feels like a control issue as it's hard to replicate things when they happen as planned but also difficult to replicate things when they don't work as expected. this makes learning the puzzles really difficult as it's hard to know what works, what doesn't work, and why. so in all 4 videos there are moments when i'm stuck trying to do something basic because i can't work out what's going wrong or what's going right.

It's a shame that this game is let down by it's controls. some of the level design has come across as filler whilst other aspects are poorly telegraphed, if they are at all. These are minor in comparison to the control issues, but all together they've sapped away my enjoyment from playing the game to the point where it feels like i'm playing more out of stubbornness than actual enjoyment of Teslagrad.

At the moment, i'm undecided about continuing. i may check to see how far i am, and if i'm close to the end i may give it a go. but if the end isn't near, it's possible this part, Part 4, will be my final video playing Teslagrad.