EGX Hands-On: Induction

A game of time travel and causality.

The Leftfield Collection at EGX always provides some of the more interesting game ideas at the show.  It’s the best place to go if you want to play something that’s a little different.  One of the most intriguing titles in the collection this year was a time travel puzzle game called ‘Induction’.

Developed by Bryan Gale, a former developer at EA, King and Bossa Studios, the idea behind Induction is to move a cube to the end point, using events that you yourself have set up in the past and the future.  You start off moving a cube around, pushing cylinders onto switches to activate new platforms to enable you to advance.  You then make use of past versions of yourself to get yourself to the end goal.  There’s no reason given why you’re time travelling, nor does there need to be.  All you need to know is that the time travel mechanic is necessary to get you through.

The game itself has a very simplistic look to it.    The ‘rolling cube’ aspect of the game gave me the initial impression that it looked like a less flashy version of Edge.  The uncluttered visuals mean you can see what you’re supposed to do in the game.  It’s obvious you’re playing a puzzle game, and the way time travel works is straightforward enough to understand.  However, don’t let the simple looks fool you, because this game gets very difficult in a hurry, and you’ll be doing a lot of rewinding in the game to change what you’ve done before.

‘Induction’ is certainlt shaping up to be an interesting puzzler.  If you like a puzzle game that truly makes you think about what you need to do, then this will be right up your alley.  It’s simple to learn how the game works, but it’s clear that finishing it will be a challenge.

Induction is currently scheduled to be released some time in 2015 for PC, Mac and Linux.  You can find out more at the Induction website.