Silt is a stylish puzzle game. It lacks a story, and it is a short game. It left me wanting more, but not in a good way.
It leaves many questions unanswered. You don’t get much of a story to build the game’s world, and it relies on visuals to give a sense of the game’s lore. This reminds me of Shadow of the Colossus in that way, even if the gameplay is totally different.
This is one of those games that leaves you wanting more. I wanted to know more about the world this game existed in, a longer game, and an explanation about what was happening. While I think the developers made a good game, it is a little frustrating not to have some story to explain what is happening.
TLDR: A Great Looking Game with Solid Gameplay but No Story.
Narrative
What is going on in this game? Well, you’re a diver that can possess fish. How did you get this power? Why were you chained to the ocean floor or inside a dead sea creature? I’m not sure, and the game doesn’t explain.
The game doesn’t explain what is going on, your goal, and your character. While this can be frustrating when attempting to write about the game’s story, it lets you speculate on what is going on. You can make up a story and look for evidence to support it.
This is fine for a game like this. You don’t need a story, even if it would be nice to have. The focus is on the gameplay and not the story.
At the end of the game, you set other divers free, and they swim up to the surface. I’m not sure what it means, but it is fun to speculate on it. It could mean that you freed this race, or it could be something totally different. It is all up to you to figure out.
Gameplay
Silt’s gameplay is very simple. It is a side-scrolling game where you need to make it to the exit on each level. Most of the levels have some puzzles for you to solve. They involve possessing different fish or undersea life.
You will have to break blocks, cut through ropes, or poison piranha plants. Since you don’t have a weapon, your character must possess the different aquatic animals in the game. You can get your diver through various obstacles by taking possession of the various creatures.
While most of the challenges you face come in the form of puzzles, you need to be fast every once in a while. These were my least favorite levels. It felt like a racing game with deadly obstacles, and that wasn’t the type of game I wanted to play.
You can argue that it breaks up the gameplay, but it didn’t work for me. I would’ve been happy with just the possession mechanic.
I should mention that your character, the diver, can only take one hit. This can be frustrating when trying to get through some of the levels, but it isn’t all that bad. The levels are short, so you don’t lose much progress if you die.
Overall, I feel that the gameplay is good. It is simple, and you can use some creativity to solve the puzzles. Silt is a simple game that is fun to play through.
Visuals
I love the way the game looks. It is in black and white but looks very stylish. It is easy to see what you must do and which fish you can take over.
The graphics make the game’s world feel older than we know. Something happened here, but we aren’t going to learn much about it. However, much like Shadow of the Colossus, the environment encourages the play to speculate on why things are the way they are.
Sometimes, it can be a little hard to tell what you need to do immediately. However, the environment gives you clues about how you’re supposed to solve the puzzles. It might take some time, but the clues are there.
I like the way the game looks. There is some history in the background as you often pass by ruins or something that looks strange. The graphics tell a story, which is up to the player to figure out.
8/10. I like the game, but it could use a little story. It is also a very short game. You can beat it in around an hour once you learn how to get through the chapters. Silt has good graphics and gameplay, but there isn’t much here. I was left wanting more from the game.
Pros
- Great Graphics
- Easy Gameplay
- Good Controls
Cons
- No Story
- Short Game
Conclusion
My issues with the game aren’t that significant. They reflect what I would like to see in a game, but they don’t mean that the game is bad. Silt is a fun game, but I would like to have a story in my video games.
The gameplay is good, and I like the idea of taking control of NPCs to complete puzzles and fight bosses. Would it be cool to take control of the boss monsters? Yes, it would be, but that would make the game very different and defeat the purpose of the boss fight.
It is a great-looking game. The background images give you a sense that this place is much older than you know. Maybe it wasn’t always underwater, or other people lived here. The visuals make me wish there was a story to explain what is happening. Silt is still a game that I would recommend. It has some interesting gameplay, and it looks great. This is a fun game.