The Entropy Centre [Xbox]
Developed by Stubby Games, The Entropy Centre is a fantastic puzzle game, inspired by the likes of Portal. A lack of order or predictability; a gradual decline into disorder; that’s what entropy is - and The Entropy Centre’s purpose is to rewind cataclysmic events to prevent mass casualties on Earth, bringing humanity back and then imparting them with the knowledge of what’s to come so that they can prepare for the worst - and hopefully avoid the danger, or stop it altogether.
You play as Aria, a new recruit at The Entropy Centre - whose first day as a Puzzle Operative seems to be a little… unusual. After a quick-fire orientation, and being equipped with a Handheld Entropy Device, you learn to rewind certain objects in time, up to 30 seconds into the past. ASTRA, a friendly ‘puzzle exercise assistant’ built-in to the HED, will help guide you on your way, offering little quips and tidbits of advice as you progress. In order to complete puzzles you have to utilise special blocks provided by The Entropy Centre, which can be placed onto floor pads to trigger doors to unlock or bridges to raise, which you can then rewind to place them in other locations to help you progress. New puzzle items are added over time, including jump pads, launch pads and bridge blocks, all of which change things up considerably. It can seem a little confusing at first, but once you learn to look at each room almost in reverse, it really helps you to gain the correct perspective on things.
Many of The Entropy Centre’s locations have the same kind of ‘science office’ feel, though with the introduction of new puzzle types as you progress, this helps to try and negate some of the tedium that often comes from completing similar repetitive tasks. Once you get the hang of how various puzzles work, you do find yourself getting through them at speed, though new concepts did have me grinding to a halt on occasion, leaving me scratching my head for a little while.
Visually, everything is very well designed, and the adorable-yet-angry bots roaming the facility have simple, cute digital faces much like ASTRA. The voice acting is well done, with the voice of Aria sometimes seeming a little odd depending on location, with an echoey distantness to it, but ASTRA’s chirpy little personality shines whenever she talks. Similarly, the soundtrack is well suited, with a variety of tracks that fit the intensity of levels and the descent into further chaos.
There are computers scattered everywhere in the levels, with most of these being switched off, but every now and then you’ll find one that is switched on with an email inbox on the screen, where you can gain collectible Intel. This could be anything ranging from random chit-chat between staff members, or little hints at things you might find (such as a room full of beans). There’s plenty of humour in The Entropy Centre, both in the interactions between Aria and ASTRA, and in the communication found on the various PCs.
Overall, I really enjoyed The Entropy Centre and found it to be a fun yet challenging experience, and it at least somewhat filled the void that the Portal series left behind, so I would highly recommend this to fans of puzzle games - and ones who enjoyed Portal in particular.
The story kept me interested, and the engaging gameplay - particularly during the segments where things are actively falling apart in between puzzles, and you’ve got to rewind collapsing structures to prevent your own demise - all had me thoroughly engaged. If you’re looking for a new puzzle game to give your brain a challenge and think that this ticks all the boxes for you, then you can pick The Entropy Centre up for £23.99 on Xbox.
In the end, we decided to give The Entropy Centre the Collecting Asylum rating of 7.5/10.
Are you interested in The Entropy Centre? What do you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!
- V x
Thank you to Evolve PR for the The Entropy Centre Xbox review code!
