PEGBRJE: Bleed and Polymute
It’s Page 8, where we go back to an original and one about change.
Bleed is an arcade shooter by BootdiskRevolution, the pseudonym for solo dev Ian Campbell, which some may recall on page 4 had also included Bleed 2 within the bundle. This feels somewhat out of order, but that’s how the bundle works some times. Regardless, players are given the origin story of Wryn, a girl who wishes to become the greatest hero of all time and inducted into the Hall of Heroes. However, the only way she can see herself doing so is by defeating all of the currently ranked best heroes whom have become complacent over the years.
It’s interesting to go backwards when playing games to see how they’ve evolved and where they came from, but it can lead to feeling as if there is a lack of things to communicate that haven’t been seen. Bleed laid the foundation of Bleed 2 with its bullet time slowmo combat, having players jumped and dodge bullets while raining them down on their enemies. Players don’t need much of an introduction to Wryn, as she sets herself and the world up in under a minute; ‘I will become hero’. It’s all we need to know, and off we go shooting. Each level introduces a unique situation from movement triggered lasers to danger bubbles replenishing constantly, with players needing to understand quickly or else they’ll either die or lose style points — honestly, what’s the difference.
The replayability factor is back (er, introduced?) with challenge modes to give players more ways to dive back into Bleed and set their own times. If there’s another person wanting to join in on the blasting fun, co-op is also allowed to give some added chaotic mess to the screen as there are even more bullets to go around. Do be aware that for those utilizing the gamepad, such as in co-op, that the controls take a bit getting used to; in fact, I was certain I used a controller during Bleed 2 but this time felt the need to use M&K. Nothing felt like it changed internally, but my aim just felt off so I did a quick switch.
I wish I had more to say about Bleed, but it’s hard to talk about the first installment in a series after never playing it before its own sequel. Game sequels utilize the best of their originals to create something more, and BootdiskRevolution knew exactly what to take and iterate upon in Bleed 2. Bleed’s a fantastic originator for the combat system, giving a fun tutorial and non-stop boss fights to keep engagement high and the octane flowing. It’s small, compact, and doesn’t overstep itself in attempting to set up a solid small installment, and after playing its sequel is a great precursor of what is to come. If you need more slow mo bullet time shenanigans in your life, Bleed will come to the rescue like any good hero should.
Polymute is a creative puzzle adventure made by Linker, a solo dev out of New Brunswick, and attributes The Wood Between The Worlds as the musician for the trip. Players themselves are a tiny person with a wizard-like cone cap, exploring the ruins of the Crystal Spyre that used to belong to a vicious demon hundreds of years prior. It is full of wonderous and possibly terrifying individuals along with puzzles that must be completed in order to uncover the secrets within, but the little adventurer isn’t alone. In fact, they can turn into their own best friend, their own solution, and a book.
The core of problem solving within Polymute is suggested in the title; the protagonist has the ability to polymorph into any form they see with their own eyes. Most items do not need to be acquired, merely seen so that the player can return to the puzzle and transform into the missing piece of the puzzle and create the solution themselves. This includes inanimate objects as well, although one cannot move as an inanimate object so transforming into one isn’t recommended immediately. Of course, the deeper the little protagonist delves the more complicated the puzzles become, going from a simple transformation solutions to word puzzles and understanding the surrounding environments while utilizing multiple transformations to talk and interact. This doesn’t mention the dozens of secrets that are likely right under my nose that I couldn’t uncover, with forms being needed for traversal or trickery that I just don’t think I acquired yet or missed completely. There’s a sense of dungeon crawling within the Spire, as I fell down a hole and spent the next few minutes slowly recollecting my bearings. Without a map, players must use the colours of the backdrops and names to landmark places as they go, interacting with as many creatures as possible to understand what they are looking for and how to get where they need to go.
Most interestingly, my entire playthrough was with one hand: the mouse. While there are keyboard inputs, Linker has made it possible to play the entirety of the game with only the mouse. Movement was by holding the right click, while left click was all actions. Middle mouse brought up the transform menu, and scrolling let me cycle through actions. It’s a nice touch I hadn’t figured I would utilize at first, but as my exploration continued I found myself enjoying the need for only one input method. The keyboard inputs are available for those that need them, but I appreciate the fact that Linker added a feature that gave anyone the option to only need a single hand to operate their game. It did lead to some bizarre movement issues, but I think that was because my right click was dying so that’s on me(I blame Dota).
Polymute is a game of transformation and exploration, one that allows players to become whatever they need to be either to solve a puzzle or just because they think that form is cute. It gives options on how to play it to accommodate, and gives players the ability to change their own colour at any time to suit their needs. If you wish to play a title that features a little capped character becoming whatever they wish to be while solving puzzles, Polymute is a good little title to indulge in.
