Airhead is a type of platformers I actually need to like. Freshly introduced at tonight’s THQ Nordic Showcase, I have been taking part in an early, hour-long demo construct of it this week, and whereas there are actually issues to admire right here, I am not overly satisfied it will be one for the ages. Its vibrant visuals and contrasting color palette forged its deep caverns and sun-drenched mountains in an exquisite, however eerie form of mild, and its unusual, scuttling creatures put me within the thoughts of the evening horrors from Dredge and Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet. However its central premise of you being a headless physique carting spherical an inflatable head to presumably escape to goodness is aware of the place is not fairly the breath of recent air I hoped it will be.
A few of my frustrations stem from bits of poor signposting, admittedly, a handful of that are hopefully simple fixes forward of its full launch. Within the very first space, for instance, there is a rock you may push to climb as much as a close-by ledge, which you’ll shunt over just by strolling into it. What’s up there, although – a few air cannisters that make a really heinous, ear-piercing sound when you work together with them – is not any use to you in any way. As an alternative, what I ought to have accomplished is push the rock the different means, towards a small, not very apparent hole within the rock face the place it’s going to then slide down fairly a protracted (additionally not instantly apparent) hall to supply a step as much as one other ledge. Though the truth that it did not inform me I might even seize and pull objects like this within the first place is one other matter solely.
![A machine rips apart a black alien creature inside a cave in Airhead](https://assetsio.reedpopcdn.com/20230811101114_1.jpg?width=690&quality=80&format=jpg&auto=webp)
Okay, certain, not determining how you can push/pull a rock may not sound like a very egregious drawback, however there are deeper issues afoot that I fear cannot be rectified so simply. Appropriately studying the panorama and selecting up on the sport’s numerous visible clues was a recurring drawback I had in Airhead’s demo, and I think about myself to be pretty fluent in many of the tips within the Metroidvania handbook. Minutes later, for instance, I got here throughout a small lake space. A black squid-like creature was nibbling on some form of purple blob simply in entrance of me, and the music took an ominous flip. This should be an enemy I must keep away from, I believed instantly. However the factor was utterly innocent and did not react within the slightest once I swam close to it – which I wanted to with a view to attain the following obtainable ledge.
The logic of its trigger and impact puzzles is equally obtuse, making it exhausting to foretell how blocked paths will doubtless open up and what that you must do to progress. At one level, I pushed a rock into the lake from above as that was the one factor I used to be actually capable of do at that time, and by smashing it into that purple factor the squid was poking round earlier, the squid then swam to a different purple factor on the opposite aspect of the lake and absolutely pulled it out of the rock face, creating a niche for me to swim via. However at no level did it counsel the squid was even able to unplugging the purple factor, or certainly that that gap was the place I wanted to go. It is serendipitous, certain, nevertheless it additionally feels such as you’re fumbling round in the dead of night, smashing sq. pegs via round holes. It is by no means a superb signal when your fundamental response to a puzzle conclusion is ‘Effectively I suppose that is sensible, query mark’, all whereas experiencing a rising sense of unease and frustration.
![A mountainous gorge at sunset in Airhead](https://assetsio.reedpopcdn.com/20230811101725_1.jpg?width=690&quality=80&format=jpg&auto=webp)
Sadly, issues worsen when you come upon the sport’s raison d’etre – the inflatable head. After watching it come into being by having some horrible machine actually mince one other alien blob creature in half, you are then inexplicably lumbered with the horrible burden of mortality, just by advantage of selecting it up and taking it with you. Earlier than, your headless physique was successfully indestructible, however your poor puffy head pal is not so lucky, and can shortly deflate over time except he is topped up with bizarrely positioned air cannisters you will discover at numerous factors in every degree. These cannisters additionally act as your save factors, and when you run out of air earlier than reaching the following one, it is again off to the final cannister with you, even though you, the physique, ought to be completely superb.
Mixed, properly, you may most likely see the place that is going, cannot you? Mixing a strain cooker setting of timed puzzle fixing with often-unreadable play areas is nothing wanting a recipe for frustration. There’s little room for error or wrong-footed exploration, and whereas its air cannisters are largely positioned in wise places, the final exasperation of not having the ability to intuit at a look what your subsequent transfer ought to be makes Airhead really feel like a lead balloon in your soul. I did not have an excellent time with it, though when you suppose you will fare higher you may attempt the exact same demo now over on Steam without spending a dime.