Darwinia review

In a world of sequels, derivative genre titles and market-driven gaming, Darwinia dares to be different. Just take a look at the screenshots. Strange, bold and retro, Darwinia looks like the ZX spectrum’s nightmare. On acid. And it plays just as outlandishly.

It would be easy to dismiss Darwinia as a gaming oddity. An arty obscurity. A freak. While it certainly is different, at heart it’s well designed and rather gorgeous arcade blaster-come-strategy title.

Yes gorgeous. Darwinia really does look great with its spectacular fractured landscapes, vibrant colour scheme and knowing nods to some of the great titles of yesteryear. What’s more it’s so far removed from the latest graphical trends that it will look just as good in 20 years time. Probably.

Why the strange visuals you may ask? Well, Darwinia is set in its own little digital universe - a virtual theme park built by Dr Sepulveda for thousands of little green sprite figures, the Darwinians, to live in. Unfortunately, this world is under attack by a virus, which, naturally, is where you come in.

Evolution

Fittingly for a game that borrows its graphical styling from a previous era of computer gaming, Darwinia also references past classics in the gameplay department – evoking fond memories of titles where imagination was more important than slick polygon pushing production. As a result Darwinia plays very differently from your standard contemporary action or strategy game.

For example the squad, Darwinia’s main fighting unit, is controlled Cannon Fodder style - left clicking where you want them to go on the landscape and right clicking to aim their fire. Squads are used to clear terrain of viral infection that take the form of slithering red lines, centipedes and other crawly/jumpy things.

Soul harvest

Killing off these viral infections leaves behind souls that need to be collected by engineers, who scoop them up to be processed at a nearby incubator. These souls then turned into Darwinians - little green sprite figures who bumble around the landscape waiting for instructions.

Said instructions are given by converting a Darwinian into an officer, who can then order Darwinians to head off in a certain direction, such as a nearby piece of machinery or a portal, to help complete mission objectives.

Eh?

With me so far? No? Well in practice it’s surprisingly simple to get to grips with. It’s also great fun – combining fast paced shooting with a side order of strategy.

You’ll have to have a quick trigger finger to overcome some of Darwinia’s testing challenges. Levels can initially seem rather daunting – their landscapes literally swarming with red virii. But sending a squad in to purge an infected zone, rockets and lasers blasting, is immensely satisfying.

The strategy side off things is less developed. You can only have three units on the go at the same time, so don’t expect RTS style tactical sophistication. It’s more about thinking and acting quickly than planning ahead tactically; taking out some jumping spiders with your squad on one side of the map while organising a Darwinian exodus on the other. The lack of serious strategy does rob the game of a little depth but makes for a more accessible experience.

Through the looking glass

For a game that looks so abstract Darwinia is remarkably immersive. A lot of this is down to the intricate campaign structure that actually makes you feel like you’re part of this strange little world. You begin to sympathise for these little green guys – especially when you here their anguished screams as they are eaten by prowling virii.

Even the interface, from the menu screen to the world map, is lovingly conceived and all part of the overall experience. Like in its previous effort, hacking title Uplink, Introversion doesn’t want you to think you’re playing a game. Of course you know you it isn’t real (unless you’re playing it with the confines of a rather snug jacket and a padded cell) but with a little suspension of disbelief the scenario becomes quite plausible.

The missing link

Darwinia looks and feels both familiar and refreshing at the same time. Elements of the game may have been borrowed from other titles but their combination here is the key to the experience. The thought and passion that has been poured into the game is plain to see. It should be a mess of gameplay styles, but it gels thanks to intelligent design and a well balanced learning curve.

Sure there are some rough edges. Having to create units by using a mouse gesture can be frustrating, especially in a moment of crisis when you really need that squad…right now… thank you very much. Some levels can also drag out, such as when you’re waiting for Darwinians to trickle through a portal or a seemingly infinite group of virri refuse to be whittled away. It’s a testament to the game’s addictiveness you persevere in such situations rather than calling it a day.

Darwinia is neither the past nor future of videogames. It’s a neat sidestep out from the mainstream. It’s a game that has ideas and refuses to be diluted by mediocrity. These days that’s a rare and brave thing to do. But don’t reward it with your English pounds just because of that. Reward it because it’s a great game.