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 slimy 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.
