POMPING IRON
Solve problems with a hammer in PSYCHOPOMP
There’s something oddly comforting about a world you explore on a fixed grid, methodically, as if you’re filling in a crossword. There’s no map to fill in, alas, in Psychopomp, but it’s still a fascinating place to roam around in, square by square.
With its conspiracy-theory-spouting, potentially delusional protagonist, it’s fair to say this is not your typical dungeon crawler, as the dungeons you’re crawling around are nightmarish versions of real-life environments: a school, a factory and sewer network. Each is populated by peculiar NPCs, who chat cryptically and occasionally harbor vital switches or key items. However, this is not the sort of game where you can simply reason with them to hand the keycard over. Instead, you have to get your hammer out and, well, left-click.
There’s a vein of edginess in Psychopomp that I’m not totally enamored with, while the surreality of the setting, narrative and characters never quite coalesces into a legible story. But its strange imagery is incentive enough to explore.
Even though it’s all set on a neat grid, this is a world where you’ll sprain your neck from looking at all the architectural flourishes, the skyboxes and swirling fog.
As a dungeon crawler it’s streamlined, with no character advancement and combat that boils down to hammering foes, then backing away. But these encounters earn their place. I wish that you could save the game mid-stage, as there was one section I had to replay multiple times. Still, what a bold, weird and dark take on the dungeon crawler genre.