ChromaGun 2: Dye Hard is a good example of how big a role timing can play in your perception of the game. It’s a little different from the first Chromagun; not hugely so, though it’s definitely got a few more ideas. And yet, where the first game felt bland and derivative, this one feels like it has more of a personality of its own.
The difference, as I said, is timing. After all, the first Chromagun came out just a few years after Portal 2. Not in its immediate wake, when you could’ve said it just so happened to borrow some ideas, but long enough afterwards that it all felt a little too similar for its own good.
Chromagun 2, by contrast, comes out nearly a decade after Chromagun, which means we’re about fifteen years into a post-Portal 2 world. Given the sheer volume of first-person puzzlers that have come out since then, Chromagun 2 feels less like it’s trying to live off of reflected glory, and more like it’s simply another game in an established genre.
Mind you, the Portal-isms are all still there. Chromagun 2 still has a snide, disembodied voice critiquing your every move, and the writing hasn’t improved all that much from the first game, where it was one of the big drawbacks. Likewise, the whole “trying to escape a white-walled lab” thing of the game’s first chapter doesn’t exactly differentiate it from Valve’s iconic game.
But eventually the game opens up, and even if the snark is still present, Chromagun feels less like a copy, and more like a homage. As the puzzles get more challenging and the world shows itself to be more than just a white lab, you can see Chromagun 2 find its own voice. It’s not the greatest first-person puzzler you’ll ever play, but it’s no longer a dull clone, either. That counts as progress.
Does it ever come close to matching Portal? Obviously not. But it doesn’t need to, either. Chromagun 2 may not do a whole lot new, but the fact that so many other games are out there now that are also copying Portal makes that easier to forgive.
PM Studios provided us with a ChromaGun 2: Dye Hard PC code for review purposes.
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