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regemond
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I'm starting to think all the best titles on Game Pass are the little indie darlings. I've smashed Boyfriend Dungeon. Enjoyed Raji's full game a hell of a lot more than the demo. I absolutely adored The Gunk, and Dodgeball Academia. And now I've played this clever little head-scratcher. Meanwhile, I'm constantly ignoring the blockbusters that hit the service, because fuck it. They can get played another time.

 

Anyway, I've started talking about The Pedestrian on a tangent, and I kinda feel like that's how the game has to be played, too. Your goal is to navigate an incredibly linear world as the stick man (or woman) from public toilet signs. You do this by working your way from room to room, solving puzzles, and all that good stuff that makes a simple game loads of fun. It would all be a bit boring if the concept just involved you jumping about in a world with worse graphics than Super Mario Land, though, which is where this game's USP comes into play.

 

Each area you navigate is set on a road sign-style panel, and might have different doors or ladders to get you into the next area. These panels aren't always connected though. Sometimes you'll need to hit Y (or triangle) to zoom out and see all the current panels you have to work with. You'll then be able to make connections from door to door, or ladder to ladder. You might even need to move the panels themselves to create a line of sight between each exit. Moving panels won't break a connection, but adjusting where connections happen will. Basically, if at any point you break said connections, the entire puzzle you're on at the moment resets, and your progress starts all over again.

 

It's not just about creating a route from area to area, although that's a big part of it. You also have to make the environment work for you.

 

Every now and again you'll encounter a hub level which requires different elements before you can escape. These are acquired by hopping into those tangents that I mentioned earlier. Say you need a key. You might need to head through the bottom left-hand door, which will take you to a series of puzzles, eventually letting you bring a key back to the main room. You might then need a wire, or a battery pack, or even something as simple as a box to hop up onto a ledge that's just out of reach. Once you've solved all the tangents for each hub, you can then move on.

 

You know how in some games they use the same idea over and over again, and it can become exceptionally boring? Well The Pedestrian doesn't suffer that fate. Its physics, mechanics, and even the nature of the puzzles themselves have been sanded down and polished to this outstanding finish where nothing feels out of place.

 

Can't solve a puzzle? That's on you.

 

That ledge too high? You need something to help you get there. Go find it.

 

The very fact that I sat down and finished this in three goes says it all for me. I loved everything it did. It's so, so much fun, and something that literally wouldn't work in any other type of medium.

 

Achievements are very generous, too. I got 1000 points without trying.

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1 hour ago, regemond said:

I'm starting to think all the best titles on Game Pass are the little indie darlings.

Agreed! Thanks to GP I’ve experienced games like Artful Escape, Katana Zero and Carrion to name a couple which I would never have bought and absolutely fucking loved them. 
 

Ive played this up to the 2nd main area. Unfortunately though this isn’t one of those games for me. Just found it all a bit too Pedestrian (haw, haw). It’s a neat idea but it didn’t do much for me at all. Glad I played it still though.

 

Saying all that I may try it on PC, might not feel so painfully slow with the mouse. 

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  • 11 months later...

I’ve started playing this. This is wonderful. I only played half an hour but highly recommended based on what I played so far. The kind of game that will put a smile on your face. I’ve never played anything like it but I’m sure someone more knowledgable/older can point to something similar. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I’m about 5 hours into this. It gets fucking hard. The game gives you achievements as you make progress and the section between the fourth and fifth achievements was quite tough (as evidenced by the fact that 52% of players have unlocked the fourth achievement but only 38% the fifth). But it hasn’t broken me yet. I’m enjoying it. There’s something about the visuals and the music that reminds me of a Pixar movie.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Finished after about 8 hours. It’s one of those games that gives you 100% achievements simply for completing it, so that’s a bonus. My Steam average completion percentage is finally up to 30%.

 

I liked this game a lot. Probably outstays its welcome but it’s a solid 8/10. Not quite an indie classic, but close.

 

I almost completed the whole game without googling any solutions - but right at the end of the game there’s a puzzle that involves manipulating items in the real world, and I got stuck because I didn’t notice an object that was necessary to complete it. I’m still proud of myself for completing the rest of it though. I feel smarter.

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