For a certain month of October 2007, for me, climbing in a video game mainly comes down to pressing a trigger on the controller and seeing a hero slip away in two seconds at the top of a steeple. So imagine my surprise when I came across Crux: The Great Outdoors which, for its part, makes each movement of the foot or hand an almost strategic issue and where the fall is only due to a simple error of placement or timing. With his little folk guitar and his colorful landscapes, he gently makes us believe that we are embarking on a pretty contemplative walk in nature when we have just put our fingers on a title as demanding as it is brilliantly put together.
Having vertigo as soon as I climb on a stool and with, moreover, a muscle mass equivalent to that of said stool, I have never ventured to climb on the slightest rock (apart from a few blocks of granite licked by the Breton waves in my younger years). So I don’t have the expertise of Ben Dressler, the developer of Crux: The Great Outdoors who climbs everything he can (he was even in Fontainebleau a few weeks ago) and tried to transcribe in a gameplay simple and catchy the exhilarating sensations he feels with each ascent. This gives a touch screen virtually cut in half and simple movements to make, on the right, to move his arms and, on the left, for the legs. The goal is to grab holds represented by small diamonds of different kinds. Some are only used to put one foot or one hand at a time, while others allow you to take more support, but always in limited time. Some special takes, however, allow for a short break to give us time to think about how and where to go next (they also serve as checkpoints to reappear there in the event of a fall).
We understand it quickly, under its airs chill, Crux: The Great Outdoors actually becomes a kind of jigsaw puzzle combined with rhythm game mechanics, all with a broad lean to die and retry. Faced with each small table to climb, we observe, we experiment and we have to remember the best path and the ideal combinations of movements to execute then in hellish timing. This is where the tension builds because you can only stay on most holds for a second or two. Fortunately, we can count on an option Coaching which allows you to deactivate the short countdown, to take your time to climb the wall and then do your scouting before starting off for good. In short, everything is very well thought out to avoid frustrations and to transmit as gently as possible the love for the favorite sport of our national Poischich. With his high standards, Crux: The Great Outdoors reminds us more than ever that we have to be careful where we put our fingers.
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