Publisher: Apogee Entertainment
Developer: Orange Pixel.
Release: June 16, 2020
Reviewed on: Nintendo Switch
Also on: PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, Microsoft Windows
Residual places you right smack in the middle of the game with little to start with and little to go by in this survival, resource management, action platformer. With it’s pixel art style and quirky sense of humor, Residual certainly is a game that is unique and worth a try.
The game starts with you crash landing on a planet where you are given nothing to go on. There isn’t much of a tutorial, except for a robotic sidekick who will give you tips on what you should be doing, with a lot of snark and sass. The game relies on you crafting everything you need with a “quest list” in the upper lefthand corner of what you need to gather and craft to continue. It’s rather intimidating at first, and admittedly I was a bit turned off in the beginning of the game, as I was lost on what I needed to do. After a while though, I figured out what the game was asking of me and it became much more enjoyable.
Residual is much more than just a crafting game, it’s also a survival and resource manager. You have three different status bars you need to pay attention to, your health/stamina, your hunger,and your suit’s energy level. Sleeping will revive both your overall health, you need to find food to cure your hunger issues, and your suit’s engery is recharged when you are in the sun. This only becomes an issue when you are underground exploring the world you crashed on.
And exploring the world is what makes Residual such a unique experience. As you build new tools to help you dive deeper into the world, you come across a world full of mysteries. As you dig deeper, you find evidence of a civilization that existed well before your time on the planet. And the deeper you go, the world gives off a creepy vibe. There is some puzzle solving in the game as well which mixes well the crafting and survival aspects.
What is also intriguing is that the world you explore is all procedurally generated, which means technically, everyone’s experience is going to be a bit different. I found that the worlds I played in were a bit different in each of my runs, the overall feel of the game was the same. The pixel art is well done and really captures the essence of a strange, alien world.
Final Grade: B
Residual is a unique game that will feel daunting at first, but after you pick up on the overall sense of what the game is asking of you, it’s an intriguing experience. The exploration and uncovering a world long forgotten will keep you going in this survival action platformer. If you are looking for a different type of experience, Residual is a game for you.
Review code provided by Stride PR