Attrax propelled out on Steam 

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Demo also available for Portal-styled environmental puzzler on Windows PC

While none have yet bested it, many environmental physics puzzlers have vied for the throne still occupied by the Portal series. The latest challenger to the crown is Attrax, the newly released game from solo developer FluffyGameDev that works on the basis of – you guessed it – attraction (and its magnetic opposite, repulsion). 

You are Participant 07841 at the Attrax Technological Institute, a designation that means nothing but suggests perhaps that many have come before you. You have no memory of how you came to arrive at this facility, designed with a series of individual test chambers that challenge your logic (and occasionally dexterity) with one guiding principle: "opposites attract and likes repel." As you progress, accompanied only by an intercom voice with dubious "motivational" remarks, you will begin to "uncover the origins of the institute, a place much older than it wants you to think." These tests, you're told, is for the "direct betterment of mankind," but of more immediate urgency, success is every bit as important "for your own sake." 

Attrax certainly wears its inspiration on its sleeve, as the game plays out very much like Valve's revered classics. Controlled by keyboard/mouse or gamepad, you'll navigate the institute's barren hallways and rooms and lush outdoor gardens in first-person, free-roaming 3D. You won't be able to roam far, however, because progress is largely linear as you make your way from the lobby hub to distinct areas filled with puzzles. There's only ever one goal – open and reach the exit – and challenges start off easy, with a tutorial to get you accustomed to the "principles of attraction and repulsion."

It won't be long before the difficulty ramps up, however, from button pedestals, field generators and charged particles to pair with their designated receptacles, to entirely new elements such as charged cubes and a portable magnetic energy gun that allows you to fling "objects (yourself included) across rooms to solve intricate puzzles and cross deadly gaps." There are over 100 challenges to solve in all, though a "skip puzzle" function exists if necessary to move on. With each room completed, you'll be one step closer to uncovering the institute's origins and its "deepest and darkest secrets." But with increasingly complex obstacles and traps blocking the way, reaching the end won't be easy; finding the secret ending will be even harder. 

For those who feel the irresistible pull of Attrax, the full version is available now on Steam for Windows PC, along with a playable demo for anyone who'd like a closer connection first.