Resonance is a point and click adventure/puzzle game developed by Wadjet Eye and wii games. It’s an indie game that centers around a powerful new device of the same name and the four characters connected to it in different ways. The inventor, a particle physicist who doesn’t want it to fall in the wrong hands, is brutally murdered while trying to destroy his research connected to the device. This sets off the series of events in the game and the race is on to uncover the truth about Resonance, the murder of the inventor and to prevent another devastating attack. You do this by switching between four characters, an aide of the inventor, the inventor’s niece, a detective and a journalist. Their paths become intertwined and each one is necessary to solve a piece of the puzzle.

A shirt and pants?

Gameplay
Resonance is designed in the mold of 90s adventure games such as those by Sierra (and other studios) but nothing about this game feels outdated and yes it’s fully voiced. You have to solve different types of puzzles ranging from using the objects in the environment to interacting with other characters in the necessary way to exploring locations on the map. It’s all point and click with the left mouse button being responsible for the use/interact function and the right mouse button providing a description of any item in the environment or your inventory. However it introduces a gameplay mechanic referred to as “short-term memory” and “long-term memory” and it makes the game feel fresh and new. Basically any item in the current environment can be added to short-term memory (STM) by clicking and dragging it into one of the slots at the top of the screen. This allows you to use that STM in dialog with another character, any item in your inventory or with another item in the environment. Long-term memory (LTM) is added automatically by the game from a notable event or acquisition of information that will be needed in more than just the current environment. It can be used the same way STM can be used. For example, let’s say you want to know more about a mainframe terminal in the environment. You click and drag it into STM slot and then engage another character in conversation. Above all dialog options is a box for you to select any item in your STM, LTM or inventory slot. This gives a wide range of possibilities of things you can do although you’ll be promptly notified if your action or combination won’t work. The inventory works in the same way as the LTM and STM. You can use items in your inventory by clicking and dragging on the object you want to interact with and not all objects can be used with any item obviously. You can inspect items in your inventory to reveal something hidden and unlike STM and LTM you can combine items in your inventory to make new items. (It would be a much different game if you could combine memories to make new memories, Eternal Resonance of the Spotless Mind maybe?)
The game eases you into its mechanics and does so without feeling like a tutorial. It’s simply done by starting off with one of the four characters and by accomplishing simple tasks in his apartment so it fits perfectly in the story. As the other three characters are introduced (depending on the order of points in time you select) you’ll become more acquainted with the mechanics of the game and the puzzles you have to solve become more complex. So by the time you’re controlling all four characters simultaneously you’ll have to use a combination of STM, LTM and inventory manipulation to solve puzzles and progress in the game. Switching between characters is seamless and there are situations where you’ll have to specifically use one of them. Anna, the inventor’s niece, is a doctor so she has access to parts of the hospital the other characters don’t. Same thing with Detective Bennett and the police station. There are only a couple of puzzles that feel slightly out of place and those are connected to flashback or a mystical element (that isn’t fully explored). Solving the puzzles in the game can get challenging at times but nothing a little patience, thinking the situation through and utlizing your inventory won’t rectify. The puzzles are integrated very well in the story so when you do solve one it doesn’t feel as if you just solved a random puzzle but unraveled more of the mystery behind the events that took place.

No, this isn’t Ted

The story holds up for the most part and was very entertaining. There’s mystery, suspense and since I enjoy science the fact that the storyline was physics related amused me even more. Each character is fleshed out enough for the purpose of the game and fits into the story perfectly. There was one jaw-dropping moment that turned the game on its head from that point on. So as not to give any spoilers I’ll just leave it at that. The story gets slightly weaker when trying to connect the events to a global level. It’s not disappointing but seems a bit rushed in terms of its explanation. There are multiple endings so the choices you make towards the end of the game directly affect the way the story ends.

Oh but it does. It changes everything

SUMMARY
Resonance was a very entertaining game that took about 10-15 hours of total gameplay to complete. The use of STM and LTM is something that I hope to see in future games incorporated in different ways. The gameplay mechanics, great story and voice acting make this game worth picking up. If you enjoyed adventure games in the 90s I say this is a must buy. If you enjoy Indie games this is one of the best ones out and you won’t be disappointed. If you enjoy adventure games in general and you’re looking for something different to try I recommend giving this a try.

Kareem Ali

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