An Old(ish) Review of Eversion, minus screenshot

[CaptObvious]

Platform: Windows XP/Vista
Genre: Platform/Puzzle/Horror (Yes, HORROR.)
Rating: Not Rated (though the warning before the title screen suggests maybe E10+ or T
Download: http://zarat.us/tra/offline-games/eversion.html

Eversion is a rather… unique game. At first glance, it appears to be an old-school platform game with a cute and upbeat environment, with cheery music, bright and colorful graphics, and a weird flower guy as the game’s protagonist whose only goal is simply to rescue the princess (which is only mentioned in the game’s readme, much like classic NES games.) One would wonder why such a game could possibly be unsuited for “children or those with a nervous disposition.”

One clue is the quote that appears on the opening screen is the quote from H.P. Lovecraft’s The Commonplace Book, “sounds - possibly musical - heard in the night from other worlds or realms of being” (I personally don’t know much about Lovecraft, but from what I gather his writings were the source of a great deal of nightmare fuel.) In fact, Eversion was created as part of a contest that was centered around The Commonplace Book. The goal was to take something out of the book – a quote or other element – and turn it into a game. Eversion took third in the contest after two other games, Verge and From Primordial Egg.

The other much larger clue is what this game has in store for the player. A run through of the early levels of the game reveals a cutesy, DOS/NES-age environment, where you stomp Mario-style on strange, cheerful-looking walking orange balls of death while collecting gems and eventually “eversing” to complete the level. When you everse, you basically switch “universes,” one that is usually a little more subdued than the previous. While not being all that necessary in the earlier levels, it becomes important in later levels for completing puzzles and collecting gems. There are only a few select locations where you can everse, all hidden in plain sight and usually hinted to by the slight change in the background color and music (a nod to the quote used from The Commonplace Book.)

By the end of the third level and especially the fourth… well, let’s just say that the warning at the beginning of the game is VERY justified.

Eversion itself is a relatively short game consisting of seven main levels and an eighth secret level that can be accessed by collecting all the game’s gems. This is probably one of the game’s biggest weaknesses as its cuts down on replay. Of course, some of the levels tend to be insanely difficult, especially the auto-scrolling sixth level.

The game’s other weakness are the controls. While the game controls well, traveling through tight passages is difficult. Holding forward just causes you to walk right over a gap, which, while nice since it keeps you from having to make tricky jumps, it makes falling down these gaps unnecessarily difficult, especially in the sixth level.

Eversion is definitely an… interesting game. It’s very deceptive too as its simple, carefree appearance holds a dark little secret. It’s a game that’s worth at least trying out…

…IF YOU DARE…