Device 6 was the second Simogo game to come out this year, hot on the heels of the brilliant Year Walk. It took Year Walk’s ideas of story-based puzzles a step further, and in doing so pushed the boundaries of mobile gaming to their very limit…and then some.
What stands out the most about Device 6 is that it is, in essence, a novel. The story is told through text that you swipe through to progress. The genius part is that the text is also a map: as you read it, your character (Anna) is walking along a corridor. When a corner comes up, you’re forced to physically rotate your device to continue reading. This results in the closest synergy of story and gameplay I’ve ever seen: the story is quite literally contingent on your location. The creativity with which Simogo exploit this unique gimmick is fantastic, with the narrative itself shaped into a work of art, both literally and metaphorically.
Fortunately, the story is also very, very good. It’s an incredibly atmospheric mystery, with great room for interpretation and critical analysis about the people we are and the way in which we interact with technology. Admittedly, it is at times a little vague, but that only serves to augment the sense of the unknown. Simogo have crafted a plot that expertly blends together different genres and different settings, explaining little whilst it happens, yet it still stands as one of the most curious narratives in recent gaming history.
And this is all complemented by puzzles that are both clever and fun. It’s one of the only games where I’ve written things down whilst I’m playing, so that I don’t miss a crucial clue or forget a code. There’s tons of backtracking, tons of exploring and a whole lot of thinking involved, and every second of it is enjoyable. It’s rare to find a game that so perfectly balances difficulty and fun: Portal 2 is one of them, and Device 6 is another.
Tying everything together are the unique visuals and wonderful soundtrack. Jonathan Eng’s contribution is particularly apt: “A perfect snowflake, our needle in the hay. A four-leaf clover on a lovely summer’s day. One in a million, that is you.” The moment when that song appeared in the game was one of the most memorable moments in gaming this year, and thus I feel no qualms in saying that Device 6 is one in a million. It helped to turn mobile gaming into something equivalent to, if not superior than, console gaming. If that isn’t game of the year material, what is?
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