THE PEDESTRIAN TRIAL

But as the game progresses, players will be pleased to know that things will feel new. Pull a lever and a platform goes up push a box to block a laser – these are all things we’ve done a thousand times before. While The Pedestrian’s concept caught my eye from the moment I watched the trailer, the puzzles in the beginning did feel familiar to many others in the genre. Each environment is completely different and players will truly feel as though they’re moving about a bustling city. But the addition of being able to manipulate the environment and having that environment, in turn, move around as you walk through the signs, is a fantastic idea that makes The Pedestrian feel like something entirely new. It would have been easy to create a game where the player simply goes from left to right, solving puzzles along the way, like many games in the platforming genre. The Pedestrian truly shines in its overall concept.

THE PEDESTRIAN TRIAL

With a bit of trial and error, players shouldn’t have a problem getting through The Pedestrian in around six hours depending on their skill level. While the puzzles do get a bit more complicated, I rarely found myself getting stuck for more than a few minutes. Not only will you have to manipulate the environment, keeping the signs in the right place so that your character can go between them, you’ll also have collect keys to unlock doors, jump on and off moving platforms, move boxes, avoid lasers and more. For example, if there are three signs all with different doors and ladders, you’ve got to arrange the signs in such a way that the doors and ladders are connected so that your character can pass through them and climb them to get to the exit.Īs you progress through The Pedestrian, things get a bit more complicated. As the player who controls both the person and the environment, you’re tasked with manipulating the “playing field” so that your character can move properly around it. You start off simple, learning the basics of movement, but then you’ll move on to real puzzles. It’s similar to other side-scrollers that I’ve played in the passed, but the game design is something new and unique. The Pedestrian is sure to pull you in right away. If you pick up The Pedestrian from developer Skookum Arts, you’ll get a closer look at these silent friends of ours. You’d never expect them to live a different life, jumping from sign to sign to get to their unknown destination. They tell us the difference between our gendered bathrooms or when it’s safe to cross to street. I’m, of course, talking about those little people on road signs that guide us every day. They’re always near – watching yet unmoving. Take a walk down the street and you’ll see them. Take a closer look at the next road sign you see, maybe you’ll notice them.

The pedestrian