There’s nothing like Exit: A Biodelic Adventure. You can pick at the ingredients list and see the Cronenberg influences – more so, the Roger Wilco elements that made the Space Quest series unique; only neurosaur fiddled with the balance knob and flipped it to 10.
In simple terms, this is a no-frills point and click adventure with a modern verb wheel, inventory system, pithy writing and a hotspot key. Each scene revolves around a series of puzzles with the primary objective of moving to the next area. However, that’s an overview – the semantics within this game are unreal.
In a futuristic biopunk scenario, sometime in the distant future (hopefully), humanity is defunct, enslaved by Worms, and their bodies jam-packed with augmentations that would make Adam Jensen blush. If he has the mod for it. It’s about time to challenge this threat, and in a psychedelic confetti bomb of slimey bits ‘n pieces, another Adam, rather – Adem, fits in.
Exit: A Biodelic Adventure Review
You play as Adem, a human vessel that emerges from an organic hibernation. Without any clue who or what they are, or even where they are, they interact with a tablet for a summary of their predicament and, within a few steps or two, realise they are liaising with a three-titted person named Bina.
Exit: A Biodelic Adventure is a throwback to the old-school point and clicks without the unsightly Sierra deaths. Instead of backtracking through multiple scenes, you’ll often have to solve puzzles within one area in a linear fashion, following an ominous path of flashbacks, surreal alien landscapes and witty commentary from your companions – your senses.
Rather than using these senses as a gimmick, smelling, listening, and tasting are very prominent actions as they can incite memories, unlock new items, and create a cavalcade of mythology, innovation, and the beautifully grotesque. In the first 20 minutes, you’ll encounter an ouroboros and shoggoth!
Just Stick It In!
Quite a few elements make Exit: A Biodelic Adventure unique. The best, in my opinion, is the writing. Genre in-jokes are minimal, if at all, as the immersion comes from interacting. Rather than pixel hunting, I found myself cycling through all the actions and items as each time revealed something new – typically sticking things in as many orifices as possible to see what happens. You’re encouraged to experiment without any cut-and-paste, ‘This does not work,’ or similar responses.
That’s not the only motivation for cycling through everything, as this game is mental. In a good way, of course. A lot of it makes no sense, but neither do a lot of illogical point and click puzzles. At least here, it plays on the absurd and takes you on a trip that isn’t far off something you’d witness in the Midnight Gospel, and that’s high praise.
This comes at a price, as intuition comes from trial and error rather than reason. Exit: A Biodelic Adventure does boast one of the most generous hint systems I’ve experienced for the genre. Forget about walkthroughs or premium telephone numbers; the developers want you to see this to the end – just be mindful of how many times you use it, achievement hunters.
My Senses Are Invigorated!
As for real-world experiences, my eyes were stimulated throughout. The animation of the characters is a little ropey at times, looking like an anti-aliased N64 model, but we’re being picky. The backgrounds, however, are marvellous, and the colours are positively intoxicating. The music can be a bit hit-and-miss as it’s not a continuation of tunes and a medley of weird concoctions.
The story is very abstract. Sure, there’s an underlying oppressive nature, though even as a narrative-driven enslaved person, once again, I was more enamoured with those interactions with items and the exchanges with Adem’s senses that make this a real standout experience.
Exit: A Biodelic Adventure Review Summary
As mentioned, you’ll likely get stuck if you try to make sense of things and rush through. Exit: A Biodelic Adventure is a short game, which isn’t a crime, but because of the absurdity of it, you’ll want to interact with your surroundings and bask in the fantastic. Very unusual, very worth your time.
