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TurnOn Review

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The WWF – the charity, not the former wrestling company – organises Earth Hour, an annual worldwide movement of switching all non-essential lighting off for an hour. Developers Brainy Studio took inspiration from this to create their debut title, a self proclaimed ‘platformer without platforms’ called TurnOn. Will it just be an exhilarating game about going around the house switching lights off, or have they actually developed an inspirational game with a message and a purpose?

Fortunately, it’s more of the latter.

TurnOn presents a story about an entire area thrust into darkness and chaos after an accident at a power station. There’s no Superman to save the day here, instead it’s down to an unnamed alien creature which looks like an electrical spark, to restore power throughout the affected areas. You’ll need to help this little thing illuminate the world by taking control of it.

05 TurnOn

Let’s tackle the fact that TurnOn is technically a platformer, but just an unorthodox one in the way that it’ll have you traversing only through the power lines that remain electrically charged. Using these, the spark will need to be navigated towards power boxes to get all the lights working again. Sounds simple, and for the most part it is, as you gleefully go round lighting up places and bringing a bit of order to proceedings in these progressively expanding environments. The devious bullies and criminals in the background of the gameplay areas can no longer use the darkness to instil fear; it feels good to have the mindset that you’re helping people with your actions, even though it’s only a game.

The majority of levels are pretty straightforward and can be finished simply with a little bit of exploring to ensure that all the main power boxes have been switched on. The more power that’s been restored and the more lightning icons picked up, the more chance of gaining three lamps out of three at the end of a level. Becoming hooked to TurnOn relies on your penchant for adventure and wanting to see the environments which have been lovingly created because any challenge of the puzzling side isn’t really there. It’s easy.

That is until the special on-rails levels, in which you have to help your little spark jump between three different power lines, which aren’t fully powered, to get to the end. There’s also an array of red lightning bolts to avoid too and if you hit three of those it’s back to the start. It all moves so fast that your reflexes are seriously put to the test, as you jump gaps and navigate around obstacles. What’s most frustrating though is the responsiveness of the spark compared to the button press; button lag is the last thing you need but that’s heavily exposed on these fast paced levels, leading to me almost giving up on TurnOn.

16 TurnOn

Those red lightning bolts are a real pain later on in the game too because these become more prominent and to try end your level progress early. At one point there’s a Ferris wheel full of trapped citizens and the whole time it’s chucking those bolts out erratically, which removes the pleasantness you start to get used to.

Another of the main features is the ability to ignore the laws of depth; the spark can travel to virtually any visible power line. So, when all avenues of reaching a power box seem hopeless, there’s always a way, even if it looks far away, just a quick jump and if the line is in reach you’ll be there. Unfortunately this didn’t always work as easy as that and I’d often somehow miss the catchment area, occasionally seeing the spark fall to its death. There are a few technical issues that pop up similar to that and these niggle away at you at times, but that’s all slightly alleviated by the fact that checkpoints are frequent.

Apart from the enjoyment found as you explore the different environments, there’s real credit needed in regards to the soundtrack. Every sound, from the joyful music to the crazy thunder and rain weather noises, are absolutely spot on in timing and placement. It’s not one of those soundtracks you could play in your car, but in conjunction with the game, the partnership works brilliantly.

22 TurnOn

TurnOn brings an instant connection to a world without dialog and a main character who’s nothing but loveable. There’s a real feeling of joy to be had from helping these virtual people out of the darkness and even though it’s often not very taxing, the rewards are certainly forthcoming; especially in the achievement sense. Aside from being a lovely tale, I must admit the gameplay can be a tad bland and when the going does get tough, it’s let down by slightly failing mechanics.

It’s not a long game, as even with my button lag issues I still came in under four hours for story completion. And chances are you won’t need to replay many levels to obtain all the achievements. Although it’s a little overpriced, this is an inspirational story that I’d recommend picking up at some point. Just don’t expect it to test the old grey matter.

James Birks
James Birks
Been gaming casually since the SNES as a youngster but found my true passion for games on the Playstation 1 (the forbidden word ooo). My addiction grew to its pinnacle with the purchase of an Xbox 360 & Xbox Live Service. A recovering GS hunter that will still play literally any game.
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