Light and dark, sun and shadow? the classic metaphors for life and death. Except, in Felix the Reaper ($3.99), they are not just metaphors, they are also the basic premise of the game. Players will guide Felix, a new field Reaper in the Ministry of Death, as he orchestrates ever more elaborate deaths, intent on impressing his lady-love in the Ministry of Life, Betty. The catch" The two may never meet?Felix must remain in the shadows, while Betty dances in sunlit meadows.
Felix the Reaper is a 3D puzzler in the style of Sokoban. Promising shadowy puzzles, comedy blacker than a city sky at midnight, and a dancing reaper, there are a lot of places it could fall short. Unfortunately, fall short it does? where art, music, and animation are high points, the gameplay itself leaves much to be desired.
Each chapter starts a little before a character’s timely death, and each level therein we guide Felix through shadows, moving barrels here, mirrors there, setting the stage just so for the star of the show to fall. Of course, it wouldn’t be a game, let alone a puzzle game, if all the shadows just aligned perfectly from the get-go. It’s a little more work than that, and frequently requires moving boxes, barrels, bundles of wheat, mirrors, and other miscellaneous items and beings to create a shadowy path to your destination. In addition to rearranging the environment, players also have a measure of control over the sun’s position, almost in a sort of ti...