I-Fluid Demo

Ingenious platformers can strike gold overnight, because there’s nothing more fun that a challenge that appears simple from afar, yet proves to be way more demanding once you try to tackle it. Hence, basic games like Super Meat Boy have the potential to sell millions of copies, while triple-A productions with a serious studio behind them can flop and miss the point entirely.

I-Fluid is a physics-driven platformer in which you play as a mere water droplet, in an attempt to navigate your way through a variety of interesting environments. Whether you have to survive an encounter with a water-absorbent notebook, or just make your way through the pipes, the journey is certainly exciting. Not only that, but it is also challenging, since a lot of obstacles lie waiting for you along the way.

Since this is still a platformer, the core gameplay concepts revolve around your ability to jump from object to object without falling into a trap. Certain materials repel water, while others absorb it, so you need to pay attention at all times and avoid stepping on something that would dry you instantly, such as a sponge, or paper. Falling off high places is also a death sentence, so there’s that to watch out for as well.

The levels are design in such a way as to make it easy for you to keep going after you die, because you respawn indefinitely at the last checkpoint. Since there are plenty of checkpoints spread across the levels, frustration should not kick in too soon. On the other hand, you might get upset at the fact that you never really know what to do, since the puzzles you have to solve do not always provide you with explanations.

Thankfully, the technical part is pretty sturdy and you should have a good time trying to control the water droplet. The physics are nice and responsive, while everything else seems to be behaving as it would in the real world. While the graphics aren’t too bad either, the textures lack the proper bump maps in some cases, which makes them appear very flat.

While I-Fluid is may not be game of the year material, it can certainly provide you with a bit of fun and entertainment, as long as you can turn a blind eye to some of its inconsistencies and annoyances. Other than that, this is a platformer worth trying, if only to see the physics engine in action.