Official Score
Overall - 70%
70%
ERI might look like a simple platformer, but its genius lies in its simplicity. Finding the perfect trajectory is more fun than you’d expect it to be, and even though it’s a short title, it is still worth a go for fans of the genre.
Players will have to jump their way through 45 different levels in the new release of Mauri Republic’s ERI. Featuring trial-and-error gameplay and a simple control scheme, should you set out to clear this one?
ERI Review
The action is ERI boils the genre down to its most basic elements. As a self-learning artificial intelligence, you must get from one side of each of its 45 levels to the portal on the other. However, a number of obstacles stand in your way, with loads of nasty spikes, sawblades, and other sharp objects to end your run.
Gameplay is fairly simple, with everything done with the arrow keys. The main method of traversal is the time-tested jump, which launches the player into the air and can be used an infinite number of times. The fun of the game comes with navigating its tight quarters and hairy situations with this mechanic – timing and planning are an absolute must, and though there are infinite lives, players can expect to do each section multiple times until they’ve finally finished it and nabbed the achievement.
There’s two interesting wrinkles that make this title stand out though. The first comes in the form of its aesthetics – each run you have leaves a ghost trail of images that shows where you’ve been. If you somehow lose your way, your second run will then feature a different color while your original run trail still remains. This quickly proves to be an ingenious way to right previous wrongs and figure out the ideal path. Certain sections had particularly tricky sections, and it was through the path of the fallen that we were able to finally make it through. It works well as a visual element too – the dark background and vector-like graphics give it a minimalistic, yet unique style.
Players can also get ahead of the game by changing their spawnpoint. By pressing down at any given time, players can instantly place a spawnpoint wherever they are at any given moment. You are at the mercy of wherever you put it, as it can mean certain death if put in the wrong place. However, this makes what would normally be an impossible game just a little bit easier. Note that this isn’t a foolproof method; spawn points can be destroyed by hazards, so players must be mindful.
Note that this title and its 45 stages aren’t the longest around. We were able to finish the bulk of it in around an hour. Unfortunately, the game needed to be reinstalled when we were a few levels shy of completing it due to a bug, one that would not boot the game, but your mileage will vary.
ERI might look like a simple platformer, but its genius lies in its simplicity. Finding the perfect trajectory is more fun than you’d expect it to be, and even though it’s a short title, it is still worth a go for fans of the genre.
