Binaries

We sit down and review Binaries. It's a quirky little platformer of sorts from another small developer. Here's our review of Binaries

Binaries is the world’s first concentration-platform game developed by Ant Workshop. This is the Scotland based developers first project. Lead developer Tony Gowland has been a game designer for over fourteen years, and has quite the list of accomplishments along with Will Morton who has many accomplishments to his name as well.

I found this game to be a love hate relationship. I would power through levels and get angrier with each death. That may sound like a bad thing but angry isn't bored. Angry gets your blood pumping. It’s the type of emotion that gets things done.

I like the general look of Binaries. The color pallet contrasts very well. It’s a game design philosophy that I find to generally be great. A simple concept that finds complexity within itself to be so much more.

Being a fan of games like LittleBigPlanet and things like Mario ROM hacks I really liked this game. It brought me back to those insane or intricate levels where it was almost impossible to beat but once you beat the level you became overwhelmed with satisfaction. If you like tricky fast paced platforming you’ll love Binaries. There is plenty to love with one hundred and one levels ranging from simple to unbeatable. This is the type of game I play when I don’t know how much time I have and need a quick fix. Most of the levels take less than twenty seconds to beat or almost a minute depending on how much you die; which will be a lot.

One of the more interesting aspects of Binaries is that it isn't just a platformer. It’s a platformer where you control two dots that move in the same direction. So when you want the blue ball to go right the orange one will also move. This can result in very frustrating circumstances. On a few of the harder levels I’d be near the end and because I was looking at the wrong ball I would die to a random stage hazard. Since you instantaneously respawn I never really encountered a situation where I rage quit out of Binaries though. I usually was too focused on just beating the level.

Level design gets a bit drastic later on. At first the game starts off as a simple puzzle to get both dots across the level to their respective goals. Several levels later they have introduced spikes, skulls that shoot little stars, and gravity manipulators that can sling you up or forward. This might get overwhelming until you figure out that the objects that instantly kill you are color coded. Orange can only hurt the orange dot and Blue can only hurt the blue dot. This adds just another layer of complexity to the game. Binaries is great if you’re a person who likes to test their mental stamina and thinking power.

I feel like there is room for improvement though. I have not been able to play every single level but there are a few things I would like to see if a sequel ever was made. Like Portals, pits in the level which drop you out at another point, Moon Gravity Physics, and inverted controls just to name a few. With a game like this the possibilities are really endless. Also if they pop up later on I am sorry.

I generally recommend Binaries. I feel like it would be an entertaining game to watch someone stream. It’s one of those games you can play for an hour or ten minutes. A very interesting game. One that I have enjoyed my experience with. I don’t think this game is for everyone though. It’s akin to the likes of Super Meat Boy but with more of a complex game play mechanic. But I hope you give it a chance.

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Binaries was developed and published by Ant Workshop for the Windows and Mac on April 4^th, 2016. A digital PS4 copy of the game was provided by the publisher for reviewing purposes.