Closure review

A girl stands on in a small pool of light, observing another pool off in the distance.

Since Braid, 2D indie puzzle platformers have had somewhat of a resurgence (to put it mildly). Typically with such a release, we expect the game to have some unique, mind-bending mechanic, sport either retro pixels or hand-drawn art, and to be "atmospheric". Closure fits snugly into this paradigm. Going in, I was worried I'd be trudging through it, rapidly losing interest as the novelty wore off as has happened before with indie puzzlers. But this didn't happen; Closure grabbed me and, through its excellently designed levels and well-crafted difficulty curve, lead me through to completion in just a few play sessions.

Like many of its indie ilk, Closure's specific draw is its clever mechanic. In Closure, the world only exists when you can see it. Unfortunately for you, it's also in almost complete darkness. Patches of light are provided by portable glowing orbs and occasional adjustable spotlights. While you carry an orb, a path stretches out in front of you, but drop that orb and step out of its pool of light and you'll fall into nothingness. Come to a wall that's too high? Place your orb so as to leave the top in shadow and you can get over it easy. A spotlight tracking up a pillar provides an elevator. Tyler Glaiel, Closure's designer, explores strange possibilities revealed by this simple idea.