PAX Hands-on: Vessel

by Justin Lacey on September 8, 2011 at 1:52pm

In control of the situation.

You would think that outside of the PAX 10, it would be difficult to find quality indie games who managed to get space on the show floor. It turns out that the first indie game that turned our attention away from the major publishers wasn’t even in the PAX 10, although it easily could/should have been. Vessel is a wonderful new fluid physics based puzzle platforming game that problem solving gamers should keep an eye on.

I’m ok with not being able to figure this out

While we didn’t get to dive too much into the story/world of Vessel, that wasn’t the point of the demo. The demo was all about introducing the gameplay, puzzle mechanics, controls as well as the game’s colorful steampunk art style. Vessel has all of the trappings of a great puzzle game and its reliance on using liquids to solve these puzzle makes the game stand out.

Your character starts out using a machine/water vacuum on his back to suck in water and release it upon triggers or other obstacles in your way to open up your path through the level. It’s hard to say what the puzzles were solving, but the levels we played took place underground or in a factory/workshop where the machinery had either gone haywire or was trying to prevent you from advancing. The demo jumped from puzzle to puzzle without transitions, but my assumption is that the final game will have a lot more continuity tying the puzzles and the puzzle solving mechanic tutorials together.

Things may get complicated.

That being said, I was thrilled to be stumped by more than a few of the environmental puzzles that I encountered. The developer from Strange Loop on hand was very helpful in providing subtle hints to us as we got stuck without giving the full solution away. However, I almost wanted to stop playing from fear of spoiling my playthrough should I get the final copy, but I pressed on as I wanted to see more examples of the types of puzzles we could expect out the world of Vessel.

There are other forms

I can use fire too?!

The coolest feature I came across was the liquid creatures that aid you in solving the puzzles. I say liquid because we encountered both water and lava creatures (called Fluros) in our session, when initially I only expected to be dealing with water. To summon a Fluro, your character drops a seed in a pool of liquid so that the liquid is drawn to until it forms Fluro. Soon enough, the Fluro is jumping around the environment seeking out the nearest trigger as you try to stay one step ahead of it. As the puzzles opened up to include water and lava, I was constantly having to learn a new trick to the environment to solve them. Puzzles successfully built on earlier solutions and the sense of progression and satisfaction upon completing each puzzles grew along with their complexity.

Another take (Justin Gifford): I got to get hands on with Vessel on Day 2 of PAX and it was one of my favorite gameplay experiences of the weekend, probably not least because right after I got done with the demo, I was able to chat with some of the guys from Strange Loop. The side-scrolling steampunk vibe, the Fluros that form out of any kind of liquid, the puzzle solving and some very understated but soothing music all just worked for me.

Right after I wrapped up my time with Vessel, it was clear to me (and confirmed by Strange Loop) that the entire thing began as an experiment in fluid dynamics and modeling, but turned into a very enjoyable game demo with just the right amount of difficulty for a puzzle/platformer.

I’m curious to get to know more about the setting of Vessel, but when it comes down to it the game was fun to play. If the puzzle design holds throughout the entirety of Vessel it has the makings of a mind-bending experience. Vessel is currently on track for a winter release by Strange Loop Games on PC, XBLA, and PSN. You can check out a gameplay trailer on their site.