Developer Glitch Games, which it should be noted is just two blokes from the UK, have developed a cult-like following over the years for their ability to produce some seriously creative and wildly interesting adventure games. Their Forever Lost trilogy is what put them on the map a decade ago, and they’ve been continuing to release new titles ever since, with their latest being Incoherence this week. It occurred to me that despite always enjoying a new Glitch game, I don’t think I’ve ever picked one as our Game of the Week. I mean, I could check, but… that would require extra work. So let’s just pretend that I haven’t and go ahead and award this long-overdue commendation to Incoherence.
In Incoherence you’ll play as Jason Bethlam, who fans may know from the Forever Lost games, and you’ll wake up in a bright white room filled with some mysterious objects and no recollection of how you got there or what is going on. Each object in the room triggers a memory, and you’ll spend the game exploring each of those memories in-depth in order to piece together what the heck is going on. This isn’t really a traditional point-and-click style game, but closer to an escape room style puzzler but featuring the compelling narrative that Glitch has become known for.
One other thing this developer has become known for is their Glitch Camera. In all of their games there is a camera icon in the corner which you can tap to take a snap of whatever is happening on the screen at that time. You can then dive into a photo album where these snaps are stored and explore each one in greater detail. You can zoom in, rotate, and perhaps most helpful of all notate on the images just by drawing right on the screen. This is indescribably helpful, and should be a required feature in every adventure game going forward.
Incoherence features some clever puzzles and some entertaining narrative twists, and while it’s not the longest game around it’s a satisfying experience overall. It feels like Glitch wants to move in a direction of these shorter games that they can put out at a faster pace, rather than take a year or two to finish a larger experience. And to that I say… You guys do you! Whatever the case I’m always excited for a new Glitch game to tug on my brain strings for a bit, and Incoherence is no different. If you’re new to Glitch Games this isn’t a bad place to start, and just know that if you like this you have their entire back catalog to chew through as well.
