Developer: Chasing Rats Games
Publisher: Frontier Foundry
Platform: PS4, Switch, Xbox One, PC
Tested on: PS4
Struggling – Review
In Struggling, you set out on a pilgrimage bestowed upon you centuries ago, but there is one catch, you don’t have any legs. Many centuries after the legend was foretold, a bunch of scientists tried to create the prophets that were once said to bring peace to all humanity. As a failed experiment, you will need to move the conjoined twins, Hector and Achilles, through their adventures in this physics-based (and honestly pretty disturbing) puzzle game.
Story
The story of Struggling goes back many centuries ago when humanity struggled to get a foothold against the darkness. Out of the blue, heroes emerged amongst the plebeians and pushed back evil for once and for all. As humans did not need to worry anymore, this paved a path towards a golden age. Sadly in these prosperous times greed and envy flourished. To make matters worse, a false prophet rose and turned the population against the once highly praised heroes. Those who once were the saviors of mankind were now banished to live in complete exile. They brandished their last hope in the coming of two prophets, Hector and Achilles, as these two were meant to fight against the false prophet and reunite the humans and heroes for once and for all. Sadly they never showed up, at least not until a science experiment goes wrong and creates the odd conjoined being we take control of.
The game starts with a decent story but doesn’t really progress over time. You travel through different locations and meet different gods that all were failed experiments. We found the lack of a proper narrative quite sad, as the overall concept of this game is very interesting.
Graphics
The art style used in Struggling is rather unique: it is a blend of a futuristic setting with a lot of organic components. If you take a look at the graphics, then you will notice that everything is nicely hand-drawn and might bear some resemblance to other cartoonish physics puzzle games like Manual Samuel. Each location is completely different, but it takes elements from industrialization, like the large nuclear pollution in the underground caves near the laboratory, or mutated biomass growing in abandoned settlements.
Sound
In Struggling the players are treated with a blend of high-class music and sound effects. The soundtrack that is playing in the background is different in each biome and puts emphasis on the current location, from pounding beats in the lab party to darker music in the caverns. Meanwhile, the sound effects might sound a bit simpler, as the same effects get used over and over again. For example, the sound of your character screaming when in pain is always the same, just like the annoying crying babies that will puncture your eardrums if you can’t get around them fast enough. We do regret that the story portion of the game, as well as the interactions that occur, are not voiced. The latter would have given the game much more charm.
Gameplay
Struggling is a physics-based puzzle adventure game where you must guide your newly born conjoined twin hero through their pilgrimage. It all starts when a drunken scientist throws up over the control panel of your holding cell and this sets the cogs in motion for your escape. The original science experiment wasn’t all that successful, as, instead of two separate entities, you are now a conjoined head with each one controlling their respective arm. You’ll have to form a certain unity to get to your next location, while dodging traps, solving simple puzzles, and fending off wild beasts.
During your travels, you will see all kinds of biomes, from rat-infested laboratories to caves filled with nuclear waste and settlements that have been overgrown by nature and strange biomass. There is a small boss section after each major chapter. These boss fights are cool mini-games, where you must help your fellow abomination, and show them the goodness of your soul. By helping the deformed ‘gods’ that oppose you, they will grant you something in return, such as a nice upgrade for your deformed body, allowing you to progress further once again.
Controlling your character isn’t that easy. The initial tutorial makes it clear that the controls are pretty simple, yet it will take some getting used to. To move along effectively, it will take skill and patience to master moving around at a decent pace. The timed events are the biggest struggle in Struggling to overcome, especially in the beginning when you are still learning how to move forward. Not only is movement complicated, but the lack of checkpoints in combination with the aforementioned timed events may also lead to very frustrating moments.
Conclusion
Struggling is an interesting puzzle game that can be frustrating from time to time. The game doesn’t always feel completely fair, and you’ll have to spend a bit of time to actually get across certain obstacles. Graphically it looks great with the hand-drawn assets giving it a cartoonish vibe. The sound design is fairly good, especially the many realistic sound effects and different music per biome. We did notice a bit of recycling in the sound department, which sometimes became a bit grating. Controlling your character isn’t that easy, but that is the charm of the game. Sadly, there are a few time-based puzzles that can lead many players to quit early on. That being said, it’s worth trying to beat the game, even with those minor annoyances present.
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