a90skid.com
  • Home
  • News
    • Nintendo
    • PlayStation
    • Xbox
  • Reviews
  • Opinion
A 90s Kid
  • Home
  • News
    • Nintendo
    • PlayStation
    • Xbox
  • Reviews
  • Opinion
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

For the latest video game news, reviews and more subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

  • PlayStation
  • Review
  • Xbox

Thinking With Colors – ChromaGun Review

  • August 19, 2017
  • Matthew Owen

Ever since the fantastic Valve-developed Portal launched in 2007, we’ve seen several first person puzzle games attempt to recreate the same magic.  Of those, ChromaGun is the latest in line.  Developed by indie game studio Pixel Maniacs, the game draws an obviously large amount of its tone to the aforementioned Valve epic.  However, many games have tried to replicate the Portal formula to meager success (and more often, complete failure).  Where does ChromaGun fit into all of this?  Is it a great puzzle game that will tease your brain, or a disappointing attempt?

ChromaGun Test

Chromatec: Your ChromaGun and You

A lot of games attempt to cover up their Portal inspiration, but I admire ChromaGun‘s “wear it on your sleeve” mentality.  ChromaGun is light on story, starting you off in the lobby of Chromatec, a futuristic testing facility.  You’re hurried through the lobby towards a collection of test chambers, all which contain puzzles for you to complete.  As you play the game, a guiding narration plays out occasionally.  The English voice actor (there are multiple languages for localization) is a smooth and low talker, similar to something you might expect from an audio book.  This nameless narrator is your main connection to the outside world, and serves as a reminder that there’s a story underneath the puzzles.

ChromaGun Chromatec

Except there isn’t.  When I say the story of ChromaGun is light, I mean exceptionally so.  With a singular narrator (and some stuff I won’t spoil), ChromaGun attempts to form some world building, but it never manages to hit home.  Between the narrator’s rather unfunny negging and general uselessness, I found myself more annoyed than pleased when his voice popped up.  Towards the end of the experience, ChromaGun tries to add some narrative flavor, but it’s a bit too little too late.  Generally speaking, ChromaGun doesn’t really need a story, but chooses to attempt one.  It’s not terrible; it’s just there.  If you come to ChromaGun expecting subversive comedy and a gripping twist, you’ll be sorely disappointed.

Playing With Colors

Although the story is weak and barely of note, the main gameplay loop is interesting and well thought out.  Using the titular ChromaGun, you fire out three primary colors: blue, yellow, and red.  Your ChromaGun never upgrades or changes function, you simply fire colors.  Using your expensive prototype paintbrush, you activate and move colored droids by utilizing magnetism.  The game builds on itself nicely, and the core concepts are introduced at a nice pace.  With a total of 8 chapters (each with 6 levels), the game eventually sees some puzzles that will truly stump you, but not for a while.  It wasn’t until roughly halfway through the game (middle of chapter 4, to be specific) that I was truly challenged by a puzzle.

ChromaGun Test 2
Taste the rainbow.

Early chapters deal with primary colors and demonstrating the main gameplay mechanics.  Different colored orbs are usually found floating around a test room, and those orbs are attracted to their own color.  For example, red orbs are attracted to red walls, orange to orange walls, and so on and so forth.

Further chapters start having you mix the colors, but the game never really changes it up.  There’s a few different types of orbs, some of which chase you down, intent on killing you with their protruding spikes.  The puzzles get more complex, but the overarching theme never changes.  I was waiting for quite some time to see a puzzle that required me to think outside the box, but it never came.  For better or worse, ChromaGun is 90% magnetizing orbs with color, attempting to guide them onto switches or through hazards.  There’s a chapter or two that flips the script, but these are short-lived.

The Bottom Line on ChromaGun

Whether or not you like ChromaGun will depend on your expectations.  While a few test chambers require a bit of timing and quick movement, but majority of the game is quite relaxing and leisurely.  If you purchase ChromaGun expecting wild narrative twists and fast paced puzzle solving, you’ll be disappointed.  Conversely, if you’re looking for a relatively slow paced puzzle game that plays with colors, you’ll be delighted.

ChromaGun is not a bad game, it just doesn’t take very many chances.  With such a brilliant concept, I expected some equally brilliant changes to the puzzle loop.  These changes never came, but I can’t dock ChromaGun for what it could’ve been.  Instead, it succeeds in what it sets out to do, and that’s just fine.  ChromaGun won’t blow your mind, but for the $15 price point and collection of nearly 50 puzzle rooms, it’ll scratch that puzzle itch.  Additionally, you’re likely to get upwards of 8-12 hours of gameplay from ChromaGun, which makes it a deal as well.

Rating: 7/10

Note: This game was reviewed on an Xbox One with a pre-release code provided by the developer.

Total
2
Shares
Share 2
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Related Topics
  • adventure
  • chromagun
  • first person
  • portal
  • puzzle
  • review
Matthew Owen
Matthew Owen

I'm a life long gamer and an overall media junkie. In addition to writing great articles like this, I host a gaming/comedy podcast called "Super Gamecast 64" available on iTunes and Stitcher. I also watch an unhealthy amount of movies, and try to spread as much love into the world as I can. Hope you enjoyed the content!

You May Also Like
Hitman 3 Title Screen
View Post
  • 5 min
  • PC
  • PlayStation 4
  • PlayStation 5
  • Review
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X

Hitman 3 Review – The Thrill of the Hunt

  • Matthew Owen
  • February 21, 2021
Gate to Niwa Resort in The Medium
View Post
  • 6 min
  • PC
  • Review
  • Xbox Series X

The Medium Review – Resort of the Dead

  • Matthew Owen
  • February 15, 2021
Scott Pilgrim vs the World Seven Evil Exes
View Post
  • 4 min
  • Nintendo
  • PlayStation 4
  • Review
  • Xbox One

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game – Complete Edition Review

  • Matthew Owen
  • January 22, 2021
Overlooking Night City
View Post
  • 9 min
  • PC
  • PlayStation 5
  • Review
  • Xbox Series X

Cyberpunk 2077 Review – Neon Nights and Buggy Fights

  • Matthew Owen
  • January 3, 2021
Cyberpunk 2077 Action Shot
View Post
  • 4 min
  • Opinion
  • PC
  • PlayStation
  • Xbox

5 Essential Cyberpunk 2077 Tips For Starting Out in Night City

  • Matthew Owen
  • December 22, 2020
Black Ops Cold War Vietnam
View Post
  • 7 min
  • PC
  • PlayStation 4
  • PlayStation 5
  • Review
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Review – A Satisfying Duty Done

  • Matthew Owen
  • December 13, 2020
Assassin's Creed Valhalla Hillside
View Post
  • 10 min
  • PC
  • PlayStation 4
  • PlayStation 5
  • Review
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla Review – A Wonderful Journey West

  • Matthew Owen
  • December 6, 2020
Watch Dogs Cargo Drone Flying
View Post
  • 10 min
  • PC
  • PlayStation 4
  • PlayStation 5
  • Review
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X

Watch Dogs: Legion Review – An Underwhelming Future

  • Matthew Owen
  • November 14, 2020

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

TRENDING
  • Spyro 3 Skateboarding
    The Best Speedruns of AGDQ 2021 Day Four
  • Scott Pilgrim vs the World Seven Evil Exes
    Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game – Complete Edition Review
  • Cuphead at AGDQ 2021
    The Best Speedruns of AGDQ 2021 Day Three
  • Hitman 3 Title Screen
    Hitman 3 Review – The Thrill of the Hunt
  • Gate to Niwa Resort in The Medium
    The Medium Review – Resort of the Dead
Instagram
Get everything you need to know about the latest #nintendodirect on our YouTube. Including synced voice to my lips! 7 0
Celebrating the best game music of the decade in less than an hour on YouTube Facebook twitch dlive but not Instagram. 7 0
#gaming #gamingdaily #gamingmemes #morrowind #skyrim 6 0
#skyrim #morrowind #gaming #gamingmemes 8 0
#morrowind #skyrim #elderscrolls 8 2
#finalfantasy #nobuouematsu 7 0
#hyperlightdrifter streaming now. :) 7 0
When you typo links awakening and stumble into a very specific YouTube niche 6 0
Please check out our review of #MarvelsAvengers if you're interested! Many thanks to @msigaming_anz for letting us review the game on their powerful and sleek GE66 Raider. @intelanz is throwing you the game with any MSI laptop with a 9th or 10th Gen INTEL Core i5, i7, or i9 Processor H-Series (Australia and New Zealand) Link is in the bio! 10 0
Our review of #SeriousSam4 by @officialcroteam is live! Shout out to @msigaming_anz for letting us review the game on their super impressive GS75 Stealth gaming laptop (link in bio) 9 0
#itdobelikedat #belikedat 7 0
Streaming #ico in 10 minutes.  First time playing.  Also trying to just play with the obs monitor on my tv.  Anyone else do that ? 4 0
Follow
Author
Matthew Owen
Matthew Owen
I'm a life long gamer and an overall media junkie. In addition to writing great articles…
View Posts

a90skid.com

21 User(s) Online Join Server

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

Get everything you need to know about the latest #nintendodirect on our YouTube. Including synced voice to my lips! 7 0
Celebrating the best game music of the decade in less than an hour on YouTube Facebook twitch dlive but not Instagram. 7 0
#gaming #gamingdaily #gamingmemes #morrowind #skyrim 6 0
#skyrim #morrowind #gaming #gamingmemes 8 0
#morrowind #skyrim #elderscrolls 8 2
#finalfantasy #nobuouematsu 7 0
A90KID.COM

VIDEO GAMES COMMUNITY & ENTERTAINMENT

A 90s Kid is an active website and media channel, dedicated to providing you information and entertainment related to the video games industry

Navigation
  • Home
  • News
    • Nintendo
    • PlayStation
    • Xbox
  • Reviews
  • Opinion
Recent Articles
  • Hitman 3 Review – The Thrill of the Hunt February 21, 2021
  • Everything Nintendo Announced During the February Direct February 18, 2021
  • The Medium Review – Resort of the Dead February 15, 2021
  • Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game – Complete Edition Review January 22, 2021
  • The Best Speedruns of AGDQ 2021 Day Seven January 12, 2021
A 90s Kid
© 2021

Input your search keywords and press Enter.