Review for Shifter’s Box - Outside In
Released over a year ago by veteran indie game developer Ben Chandler, Shifter's Box - Outside In is the story of a girl named Sally, who one afternoon ventures on a leisurely stroll through a local park and accidently stumbles across a rather unusual box. With the lid firmly stuck and her curiosity piqued, she decides to find a way to unpry it, but after forcing the box open, she is instantly consumed, re-emerging in another dimension. Finding herself marooned, Sally sets out to find her way home and unravel the mystery of this most unusual box.
Shifter's Box is essentially an eight-room game in which you gradually advance one screen at a time. That may sound confined, but the box continues to transport Sally to diverse new locations, including a war-torn desert, an industrial steam world and a bizarre island in a yellow sea, to mention just a few. The game throws you right into the thick of the action, with no exploring, no lengthy backstory – you’re just immediately confronted by puzzles in each stage, which you’ll need to solve in order to progress. Each obstacle generally suits its respective environment and helps to further illuminate the story when overcome, revealing little snippets of information about the box and the characters who play a part in its existence.
The idea of falling into a box or hole in the ground due to the protagonist’s curiosity and then struggling to find a way home from a vivid alternate reality is reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, but in Shifter’s Box it’s recreated with a science fiction theme full of industrial machinery and hi-tech equipment. The other difference here is that exploration happens across many different worlds, which all appear to be linked to this one mysterious box that acts as a gateway between them.
Though the focus is primarily on puzzles throughout this journey, you’ll begin to encounter various robots, holograms and humanoids along the way, who either have direct involvement with the box or are familiar with its operation. Although looking rather alien, these characters usually appear friendly and completely civilised, without a hint of scepticism about where Sally’s come from or how she happened to arrive. Their hospitality is fortunate, as each meeting plays a key role in providing valuable information to guide her on her way. There's also a narrator named Ebenezer Leary, who presents himself at the beginning of each location. Ebenezer plays no part in the story other than as an observer looking in and offering observations. He also tries to frame the direction of the story with some philosophical ideas that somehow manage to tie in with the plot. These are amusing at first, though they’re perhaps a bit overdone and do become a little clichéd.
Most of the puzzles are solved using items in logical combinations or by following clues to sequence-based puzzles, sometimes backtracking through the box to previous worlds once you’ve found their respective code phrases. Many of the puzzles aren't difficult to complete, demanding only simple interactions with one or two items, but a couple will take a bit more effort to get through, involving slightly more abstract ideas like operating an alien device. One obstacle that is a bit more challenging is located on the machine world, which requires capturing a floating alien jellyfish with the aid of a stray cat. It's an odd puzzle that needs a fair bit of trial and error, as it can only be solved by trying every interaction possible – likely multiple times – before working out the correct order of events. It’s a detailed puzzle that really could have used more obvious feedback to your actions or clues about what actually has to happen to succeed.
Graphically, Shifter's Box displays a very unusual look, giving these worlds a surreal aesthetic. The game utilises lo-res pixel art, but it’s nicely designed to give each scene a distinctive, stylish personality of its own, whether it’s the sad eyes of a slowly decomposing robot, the red hair and blue skin of an alien researcher, or mechanical platforms eerily floating in the background. While obviously retro in nature, much of Chandler’s work here matches the quality of commercial adventure games from the early ‘90s, and he really pushes the envelope visually with his use of colourful backdrops. In the hands of a lesser artist, the use of bright oranges, pinks and greens (among others) would probably come off gaudy rather than pleasingly esoteric.
Although there isn’t any voice acting, the sound effects are crisp, delivering a handful of small, nicely executed buzzes, clicks and whirs. The soundtrack is somewhat more subjective, employing something reminiscent of a ‘70s acid guitar riff mixed with a few other spacey-type tracks. I think the idea was to create a kind of offbeat score that matched the visuals, but personally I struggled with it. This may just boil down to personal taste, but to me the music seemed out of place in terms of composition and its suitability to the game, which became grating as time went on.
The point-and-click interface is straightforward and simple to use, with one mouse button handling all interactions and Sally’s movement while the other offers observations. All inventory is stored in the lower half of the screen, where items can easily be combined by clicking on one item and then another, or simply selected for use in the main environments.
Overall, Shifter's Box is as surreal as it is captivating, recreating the feel of a fairy tale adventure with a science fiction theme that catapults you through a variety of different alien worlds. Its focus is more heavily on puzzles than story, so set your expectations accordingly, but it's a visually appealing cartoon adventure and very polished all around. The only downside here is that it’s very short, as the majority of players should be able to finish within an hour or two, leaving you yearning for a couple more puzzles, a few more scenes when it’s done. It’s short but sweet, however, and without a doubt it’s one box that’s well worth your time to open.
Shifter's Box – Outside In is available for download from the Adventure Game Studio website.
