Review of The Pedestrian

We offer you to read the review of the unusual puzzle platformer The Pedestrian.

The Pedestrian appeared thanks to the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform. The fundraising campaign for the creation of the game was completed several years ago, but only at the end of January 2020 did the project finally reach the Steam store. Skookum Arts' creation is reminiscent of the Toy Story series in its concept: you control a strange little man (and you can even choose a gender), who has to go through several difficult puzzles and solve many logical puzzles.

To a greater extent, The Pedestrian is a 2.5 puzzle platform game in a unique setting: the action and movement of the hero are enclosed within street signs located in different parts of the city. The game is divided into several stages, and the goal of each is to get to the exit and start the train to go to another area of the city. You will often come across complex puzzles, for the solution of which pr?You have to deal with puzzles on neighboring signs. You can move between the signs only if they are somehow connected: by stairs or doors.

It takes about 6 hours to complete the game. And during all this time, this simple concept becomes more complicated, new elements constantly appear that maintain interest in the game. Trampolines, deadly lasers, mobile boxes and other components will constantly require you to think outside the box. As the complexity increases, you will increasingly resort to banal trial and error.

The musical accompaniment is 90% composed of jazz arrangements that are pleasing to the ears, the sounds of which come from the background. There are no dialogues in the game: neither narrative nor scripted, and the main focus is on a gameplay concept that is unique in its kind. The music, along with the visuals, tries to create a presentable appearance. However, in some places I noticed that the tracks ended abruptly, as if the game was trying to punish me for taking too long to solve the next puzzle. So the general atmosphere was lost, but not to say that it caused me great irritation.

The Pedestrian is visually executed at the highest level. minimalistic road sign designclearly stands out against the background of the detailed streets of the city. When moving from puzzle to puzzle, the camera effectively moves from one object to another, showing the player such structures as a train station, a university, and even sewer systems. Thanks to this, from the beginning to the very end, you will be intrigued, looking forward to which part of the city the game will take you to next. And sometimes the details inside and outside the signs have a much stronger connection than it seems at first glance.

What the game lacks is the division into chapters, thanks to which you would have the opportunity to visit previously studied levels, solve puzzles again. At the moment, there is no way to go back by accessing the previous parts of The Pedestrian. This is sometimes frustrating, as such an aspect could greatly increase replay value. There are also no additional save slots, so when you start a new game, you risk losing all your progress.

As you solve puzzles and explore various areas of the city, you will be so involved in the gameplay that you are unlikely to leave the game until you see its finale. Undoubtedly, ?Here it is worth considering whether you are a connoisseur of the genre of puzzles and platformers. The developers of the game managed to create the most balanced game in terms of complexity, as well as evenly distribute the appearance of new elements, so that the puzzles do not become boring and do not seem to be something of the same type and repetitive. There are minor issues with the music score, there is a lack of chapters or additional save slots, but this will by no means prevent The Pedestrian from becoming one of the memorable games of early 2020.