GraviFire [Xbox]

Developed by Potata Company, GraviFire is a logic-based puzzle game utilising the effects of gravity. You play as a small character known as the Green Fire, who has been abducted by aliens in order to complete a series of tests. Using gravity, you can move blocks around, using your body to push (or block) where required, to cover all of the panels to complete the level. You’ll have various things to contend with, such as lasers that will destroy blocks, causing you to fail, as well as little grabby spikes to hold blocks in place, and more.

Movement is controlled with the left and right thumb sticks, with left being for movement and right for gravity. These are the only controls, so it doesn’t take long to get the hang of things - although I did at times move the wrong one and mess up what I was doing! The levels get progressively harder, but if you get stuck - don’t panic - there’s the ability to skip up to five levels - but with a countdown timer after each use to encourage you to complete the level after skipping. Skipping should be a last resort, as doing so will cause you to potentially miss out on achievements for solving certain puzzles. There are 50 levels in total to complete (plus a 51st level that triggers the ending), and across these you’ll have certain levels that will reward you with an achievement for passing (with or without the use of the Skip) and/or solving the puzzle (completing the level properly).

GraviFire has a very simple, straightforward art-style consisting of each level taking place in one or more sections, and bars at relevant sides for gravity control. The overall design is clear, allowing you to easily see any buttons and differentiate between movable blocks and the pressure points they must line up with - but the lack of variation in level design (aside from the shape of the ‘rooms’) is a little bit disappointing. The music of GraviFire has a real arcade vibe, like specifically the vibe of British amusements in holiday camps. It has a very space-chimey tune that totally triggers those childhood memories (but hey, what do I know? Maybe arcades/amusements elsewhere have similar music!)

GraviFire can be fully completed in around an hour, so for the price of £4.19 on the Xbox Store, it’s cheap enough to justify. The lack of a real story or anything other than puzzles to solve makes this definitely feel more like a title just to get your brain juices flowing a little, so if that’s what you’re looking for - great. If not, you might be a little disappointed by the overall shallowness of the content, as while the puzzles do offer a decent challenge, there’s not really anything to warrant any further playtime.

In the end, we decided to give GraviFire the Collecting Asylum rating of 6/10.

Have you played GraviFire yet? What did you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!

- V x

Thank you to Sometimes You for the GraviFire Xbox review code!