Can you overcome the puzzles on Opis?
Faraday Protocol is a first-person, story-driven puzzle game that will test your curiosity and keen perception. You are Raug Zeekon: interstellar archaeologist from planet Cunor. You have been sent by your company to investigate the source of a mysterious signal coming from an unexplored star system. As you deploy from your spaceship, you’ll find yourself in a new and unknown environment. A voice will welcome you to “Opis” – the mysterious place where you have landed. Opis is structured with a succession of puzzles and trials you’ll need to conquer in order to keep exploring. Solve intricate puzzles by re-distributing energy through the use of your Bia-Tool and demonstrate your abilities during the stations’ challenges. The mysteries of Opis are hidden within its core. Who built it? When and why? And where are they now? Investigate lore elements spread throughout the station, interact with the governing A.I. “Iris”, and expose secrets lost in the millennia.
Faraday Protocol is an FPS puzzle game like The Turing Test, QUBE or The Witness. Your character Raug gets a weapon called a Bia-Tool that lets him absorb and fire different types of energy at specific objects. You essentially work your way through rooms by trying to figure out how to redistribute power from other areas to power up the door to the next room and so on, but you’ll learn more about the mysteries of Opis along the way and there is a decent story to be found here. There are some good twists added later on that I won’t spoil, so I wouldn’t get too comfortable if I were you…
Figuring out the puzzles aren’t always the easiest, but it does feel good when you do and hopefully without resorting to looking up the solution online. There are also a number of hidden collectibles that can be easily missed so you may have to replay if you want the full 1000 Gamerscore.
The game ran at a solid framerate and looks good for the most part, but the aesthetic of the game can get a bit too familiar after a while, making it best to play in short bursts so rooms don’t seem to roll all into one. Voice-acting is a bit of a mixed bag at times, while the soundtrack was decent overall.
The Verdict
Faraday Protocol is an impressive FPS puzzler with a decent story, but its best played in short bursts to avoid burning out with rooms that can seem to blend together.