Exographer, a science-backed metroidvania with puzles

We often see science fiction titles in the industry, so a premise like that doesn't have as powerful an impact as you might expect. However, the really interesting thing about Exographer, the upcoming title from SciFun Games, is that it is made by real scientists. All the systems in the game are based on real science or are, at least in theory, plausible.

Exographer is a metroidvania-style puzzle title with an expansive world whose narrative unfolds over 20 levels with learning by discovery, as director Raphael Granier de Cassagnac told us. In each level, the player (a sort of space explorer) will solve puzzles using the environment based on physics and observation, among others. To do so, we will have to learn how to approach these strange puzzles spread across six biomes, photographing objects and using up to six different tools. In addition, the stage has several layers, and you can move between them to explore more areas and objects.

In the presentation we attended, we were able to see a couple of the tools that the explorer will use, such as magnetic boots or a force field that allows him to pass through walls (it seems to distort the molecular density in its path).

So, although this technology obviously doesn't exist today (as far as we know), Exographer is a game that wants to take advantage of scientific nomenclature and terms to bring science closer to the players, with a gameplay time of about 15 hours. As a curious note, the game's soundtrack is composed by Yann Van Der Cruyssen, who also wrote the scores for Stray and Cave Story.

At the moment we don't have a release window other than this 2024, but Abylight will publish the title on both PC and consoles. And to give you a glimpse of what Exographer has to offer, check out the trailer and gallery below.