Sephonie (2023) [Switch] review

It’s hard to decide who’s truly brilliant; it’s easier to see who’s driven, which in the long run may be more important.

-Michael Crichton, Congo

I’ve been getting an itch to play 3D platformers recently and Sephonie is one I’ve been keeping my eye on for a few months. Now that it’s finally on Switch I just had to jump on the chance to play it! Sephonie is one-half challenging 3D platformer and one-half block puzzle game where you explore an interconnected system of caves on a remote island. You play as three biologists tasked with exploring the mysterious island wildlife and its strange ecosystem. You can switch between them at any time but they all control the same. It takes place in the real world several decades in the future but the titular island Sephonie is fictional. The three scientists have an experimental technology called ONYX implanted in their brains that allows them to link directly with the bizarre creatures on the island to get detailed information. The puzzles take place when linked up.

The game comes from Analgesic Productions, a two-person team known for creating the indie hit Anodyne. Sephonie features N64-like graphics with bulky polygons and low-res textures. I didn’t mind this art style at all as it brought me some nostalgia for the era. However, on Switch I did notice some graphical glitches such as textures popping in and out but nothing that was too distracting from the experience. The music I actually did love because it felt very calm yet mysterious. It also had a very nostalgic feel with its use of digitized instruments and early 2000s synth sounds. The colors in the first couple of caves seemed a bit bland to me but the later areas made up for it with more interesting biomes.

This game is not at all what I expected it to be, it’s very weird in several aspects but not necessarily in a bad way. The main gameplay consists of 3D platforming, each area of the cave has dozens of platforms, bounce pads, poisonous floors, and many more things to either help or hamper your progress and you just need to figure out how to get from one point to the other using your arsenal of parkour moves. Interestingly, there are no enemies whatsoever anywhere in the game. You have the ability to jump, wall run, and dash. There’s a running dash and a mid-air dash that, if done next to a ledge, will bounce you up essentially creating a double jump. There are also other abilities that are unlocked later but are only used in specific areas. The controls did not feel intuitive to me and took me a while to get used to so I had a few problems with the gameplay.

First, there’s the problem that I’m used to jump being mapped to B on most platformers but in this game, it’s set to A and there seems to be no way to change the button layout in the settings. Then there’s the running dash in which you hold a shoulder button and your character begins running and becomes difficult to control. The tutorial describes it as similar to being on a skateboard, which makes sense because your character moves fast and turns slowly. The wall running felt great when it works but there were also times when I approached a ledge with the intention of dashing into it to jump up to the platform, but if approached at an angle the character would sometimes wall run instead, making me fall to my death. Eventually, I did get used to the controls, and figuring out how to solve the platforming challenges felt great, minus the accidental wall running which kept happening throughout my whole experience.

You’ll frequently come across species that you can link up with to begin the puzzles. The puzzle challenges consist of placing tetris-like blocks on a grid and connecting similar colors to create big combos. The blocks are only made up of 3 different colors, but the pieces you are given usually have 2 different colors per block so it becomes quite tricky placing them down in a way where similar colors are connected. Combos of 3 colors or more are cleared out at the end of your turn, leaving behind whatever spare blocks didn’t connect to any combos. You get a limited number of blocks per turn but you can end your turn whenever you want, so if you run out of space you can just start a new turn. If you don’t match enough blocks in a turn, you start losing health so you need to be strategic about how to place them. Once you’ve earned a high enough score, you complete the puzzle and return to exploration.

Something I was impressed with is that almost every single puzzle I started had a new element to it. I came across a boulder that clears when you place a block next to it, puddles that eliminate anything placed on top of it but clear the space after, or even creatures that move across the board and erase your blocks unless you eliminate them. Every new puzzle had a new element to learn about and figure out how to work around, with some of the later puzzles throwing you multiple elements at once. Overall I did find them easy to complete, to the point where I eventually forgot that you could lose health because I was able to complete each one on my first try. I did find them enjoyable though and on some of the later, more challenging ones I had to really slow down and calculated decisions about where to place the block pieces.

Another weird aspect of the game is the story itself. The three scientists are Amy from the USA, Ing-wen from Taiwan, and Riyou from Japan. Together they were chosen for an international collaboration tasked with exploring Sephonie Island. When they arrived, an electromagnetic field disrupted their boat and they crash-landed, ending up on the shore. With no choice but to wait for rescue, the three set off and begin exploring and linking with the strange wildlife. Soon they realize the more they connect with the wildlife that some part of them is also linking with the island. Sephonie itself manifests into a character that the three interact with in a way that’s difficult to explain.

At the end of each area there is an enormous creature, not exactly a “boss” per se, but linking with them provides a tougher puzzle challenge. Afterward, the game goes into flashbacks of characters’ past experiences. Through slideshows or static vignettes, the story deep dives into each of the three biologists and provides glimpses of their struggles, thought processes, and connections with the people in their lives. Eventually, these connections become so strong that the later areas of the game begin to bleed into the environment creating surreal warped roads and buildings. Traversing these bizarre landscapes is visually interesting and striking. The story itself goes beyond what I ever expected and explores other heavy topics such as existentialism and international politics.

After reaching the ending I was shocked that it had a sudden and unfulfilling twist. However, there is a prologue that does give further context and actually wraps things up nicely, also in an unexpected way. After the prologue is finished, you’re able to freely explore Sephonie Island and find any items and creatures that you might have missed the first time around. Collectibles are well hidden and hard to reach; I found a great sense of accomplishment every time I found a tricky one. Additionally, every item will also provide a little bit of extra lore about one of the characters if you read their description. As an added bonus, you can also unlock an extra mode with new bubble collectibles. I appreciate features like this that greatly expand the longevity of the game after the main quest is finished. Overall I spent about 10 hours on the main quest.

I had some mixed feelings playing through Sephonie but I’d say it was an overall positive experience. I had moments of enjoyment that were brought down at times by some frustrating challenges or uncooperative controls. There are accessibility options that can be toggled on, such as infinite mid-air dashing, which I did end up using myself early on while I was still having trouble getting used to the controls. I’m glad I was able to get comfortable enough to turn it back off and finish the game the way it was meant to be played. The storied scenes while interesting at times felt drawn out, but the end result is something profound that delves into unexpected places. This game gets a recommendation from me but it’s not for everyone. If the gameplay and story beats intrigue you then it’s definitely worth checking out.

Thank you to Analgesic Productions for providing a code for this review!

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