GoKawiilWith muted colors and white robots à la Portal, D-Topia is a relaxing puzzle game set in a utopia that might not be so perfect.
My brief demo at SGF teased mysteries and was a welcome, cozy palate cleanser compared to the raids on tombs and dinosaur attacks I played the same afternoon. Like Grave Seasons (trend alert!) there's a not-so-cozy-as-it-seems undercurrent. The game starts as soon as the protagonist arrives (or was he born? Where did everyone come from?), with ever-present robots gently guiding you around the facilities. The bots also explain your role at D-Topia and your cute apartment, which can be increasingly customized as you progress through the game. A visual system switch lets your character see what others can't, helping you to spot issues and communicate with broken robots across the facility. According to the press release, decisions will matter in D-topia, with storyline implications based on what you do (or don't do) inside the confines of this muted utopia.
The puzzles themselves are initially simple block moving with some basic arithmetic (and I mean 1+1 levels of basic), although subsequent puzzles add extra wrinkles and obstacles. There aren't any timers or urgency, at least during the early part of the game — you can even solve extra puzzles as a form of overtime for extra in-game currency. Players can explore the mystery of D-Topia themselves on July 14.