It's a 2D puzzle-platforming game that's majorly 3D, & called 'Pedestrian,' yet one of the most subversive & exciting games I've played in a while. It's a perpetual green light from me!

What's with the hustle and bustle? Do they think it's 2019?

When I think about 'hobby games' like Destiny 2 or bottomless time sinks like AC Odyssey, I can only think of how much people are missing. It's a privileged take, granted. People want value per hour out of economic pressures on top of a melange of other reasons. Only, The Pedestrian reminds me that in a perfect world we could all have the spice of life of twenty five short experiences that last longer in an altogether more meaningful way than a monster corporate product ever could. Media that doesn't monopolise your time, but delivers a quick, sharp shock of everything you could want of entertainment as a means of adding value to your life.

You already know - your attention piqued from vids/screenshots as it is - that it has visual aplomb. The Pedestrian is the king of the background. As you shift from sign to sign, the camera dramatically sweeps through these massive, detailed (if a little low-res at times) 3D environments and near every puzzle/platforming scene is perfectly framed for impact. The intro, in particular, bursts forth with intoxicating momentum. With its energetic backing track, it's a triumphant sequence I thought had simply set the bar beyond reach before settling into a comfortable groove. I was wrong!

That's one way to deface a confederate monument.

What you might not know be able to gauge immediately from any media is whether its puzzle acumen plays second fiddle to its good looks. Even playing it felt like I was holding an overly long interview process to suss it out before my sceptical eye simply had to give way to the overspill of reality. It's true that The Pedestrian gets comfortable - playing as it does with its wealth of mechanics. Every time I thought a puzzle might end up being the standout going forward, its representation in my mind would be veritably extirpated by the next. Every time I thought the remainder of my time would be a reshuffling of the mechanical cards, a new pack was thrown my way. Unlike many games that introduce new mechanics too quickly, everything felt iterated on to its logical end. When one particular new set of mechanics was introduced I responded with such unrestrained glee that they'd read my mind. But that's even before the goddamn ending sequence.

So delicious and moist.

Its bread and butter is definitely its puzzle piece-like mechanics. Given a selection of signs in a scene, you need to link up ladders and doors in an unbroken way such that you can progress. Sounds simple, but it's added upon and subverted in enough ways that it never loses its lustre. Although initially overwhelming and even demotivating occasionally, I appreciated how little hub sections wherein you go on 'quests' for items let you disengage with certain puzzles and still have somewhere to go. It also helps ground the locations as these 3D areas to explore rather than something to power through.

When I talk about puzzle acumen, what you might not expect me to very well say is 'The Witness.' If that means anything to you, you might now be excited. I can't say anything more except to avoid the user screenshots or YouTube vids. It's a small slice and leaves you wanting more, but it was such a powerful move of flipping everything on its head that I couldn't have been more impressed. If a short, indie experience such as this can avoid being a homogeneous experience, why can't we expect such boldness industry-wide?

Asking the crane operator to pass the gameboy.

It's a 2D puzzle-platforming game that's majorly 3D. It's a game called 'Pedestrian' yet one of the most subversive and exciting games I've played in a while. It's a short game you could fit many times over into more lengthy titles and yet with more of an impact and less gameplay homogeneity. It's a perpetual green light from me!

I was looking for a comfy, chill puzzle game and this fit the bill pretty nicely.

In the Pedestrian, you play as an abstract pictograhic representation of a person, like what you might see on a road sign or construction sign. Your character runs around on such signs, and you can reposition the signs and connect doorways or ladders on one to another sign in order to get your character to the exit doorway and into the next area.

It's a simple idea on paper, but it's the smoothness of the presentation and visuals that really elevates it. As you move from one set of signs to another, the camera pans smoothly with your character to the next area giving a sense of interconnectedness, and you can see the environment move past as you travel through a warehouse, a subway, a college campus, and more. On a set of signs positioned above busy city streets, you can see the cars bustling below, and you can hear them as well. These kind of touches, I found, worked beautifully to give a feeling of life to the 3D world that you are traveling through, as a figure limited to two dimensions.

There isn't too much of a story here, and the puzzles are mostly simple but without being trivial or boring. There's a bit more challenge toward the end but nothing that should be frustrating for the average player. I'd have liked if it was a bit longer, but even so, it was an enjoyable experience all around.