Geon: Emotions – 360 Review

Somebody has been working hard to make Geon: Emotions sound more enigmatic than it really is. Not content with letting the game’s specifics hide within the vagaries of the abstract futuristic sports genre, the developer/ publisher/ PR agency has sought to further befuddle consumers with talk of gameplay based around ‘playing to emotional strengths’, ‘using feelings to your advantage’ and other such imprecise spin.

But spend ten minutes with the game and the shroud of mystery quickly slips off to reveal something quite conventional underneath. Indeed, the core mechanics are almost pedestrian, though the exciting, bright and good-looking visuals desperately attempt to communicate otherwise.

Contrary to first impressions, Geon is not a puzzle game but, principally, a racing game. You control a cube that must be rolled around a simple grid-like environment while gobbling up Pac-Man-esque pellets. Once you’ve collected a set amount of pellets you hurry towards a goal where you deposit them and score a token. You then head back out into the level to collect more of the remaining pellets until you have enough to buy another token, and so on. It’s a two-player game and the race is to see who can score five tokens first.

To make matters more interesting, the designers pull a number of tricks – the primary conceit being that your rival is playing on the opposite side of the grid you play on. As such, you can see their pellets through the semi-transparent floor while also being able to track their movements and progression. Additionally, the goal where you must deposit your pellets is situated at the centre of the opposite side of the board, deep within your opponent’s territory. So, once you have collected the required number of pellets you race to the edge of the grid, flip it over with the X button, and roll across their side of the board to reach the goal and collect the token.

This set-up establishes an interesting rhythm of play where players are separate from one another one moment, and then invasively together the next – a good idea that elevates what is otherwise an acutely simple one.

You can read the rest over at Eurogamer here.