Area 86 Demo

Physics have come a long way in the last decade or so when it comes to video games, and it’s actually possible to simulate many real-life situations in various simulators. They may not be extremely accurate in some cases, but you can have a lot of fun with such concepts if the developers integrate them in a fun way. Hence, even casual games can benefit from a well-designed physics engine.

Area 86 is a physics-based puzzle game that allows you to play as a robot and solve a variety of environmental puzzles using simple actions such as throwing objects around. There’s not much content available in the demo, but the developers are definitely on the right track if they continue to improve the game and refine the controls, because at the moment there are some issues in that department.

The robot you control is pretty basic, given the fact that it looks like a metal box with wheels and an antenna. Every stage features multiple primary and secondary objectives, some of which are more challenging than others. Hence, whether you have to find hidden items, test the durability of the robot by running into a wall, or throw boxes into a weird teleporter, you are always doing something fun.

One of the most annoying things about Area 86 is the fact that you immediately drop the item you are carrying if you happen to touch another object. Sometimes it takes quite a few tries just to pick up an item because it is too close to something else, so some work is needed in this department. It would also come in handy to have some kind of power bar when it comes to throwing things, because there’s no way to know how far the item is going to fly.

The controls are also in need of a little work, especially in terms of moving the robot around. Since you are often required to stand in a precise position in order to throw items at a target, the incremental rotation of the robot is very dodgy and annoying, which makes you lose a lot of time. As for the graphics, they are not bad at all, and the physics work flawlessly most of the time as well.

Even if Area 86 is not as polished as it should be at the moment, it’s still a very fun game, especially since you have to rely so much on intuition to complete the puzzles. Hence, with a bit of work and better controls this could definitely become a fan favorite.