Detailed Impressions: Dyad (PS3)

Dyad starts simply, and slowly. Introducing the player to the central concepts in serial is key, though, because by the game’s half way stage your mind will be juggling a half dozen core principles simultaneously whilst whizzing down a strobing, pulsing pipe so vivid and fast it’ll have Jeff Minter throwing in the towel. There are a handful of key ideas and gameplay mechanics in Dyad, but they all tend to end up with you hurtling so quick you’ll be sweating by the end of it.

Your character, a reaching, vectorised shape that brings Rez’s lowest lifeform to mind, throbs with the beat at the foot of the screen; everything else spins and rotates around you clockwise and anticlockwise, the various elements of the level rushing towards you like a bastardisation of Tempest and WipEout. At the beginning, your only method of propulsion is to hook onto passing mines and enemies, linking two like-coloured together a sure fire way to slingshot your way down the tunnel.

As the game progresses other aspects are introduced. The Lance, a way to transform temporarily into a weapon, is charged by grazing past enemies Burnout-style and extended by hitting Lance extenders once activated. Likewise, two identical elements once hooked will provide a zip-line, as will the centre of a Triad, and the rather more deadly Chargers. These are all introduced gradually, of course, but once implemented going back to the start feels ever more sedate the further into Dyad you go.

The trick, and the vital reason why Dyad is so successful, is in limiting the appearance of each item and enemy to certain levels. It’s never once messy, with each mission dishing out clear objectives that complement the types of elements you’ll be facing – albeit objectives that require considerably more cerebral input than you might at first think. Dyad has a habit of pulling the rug from under you, forcing you to think on your feet and quickly learn new skills.

A particular objective might be as simple as getting through three stages of a level as quickly as possible, or riding a set number of zip-lines, and whilst these are normally straightforward enough the first time, the same checkboxes a few levels later might be more taxing given the removal of one thing and the addition of another. No spoilers, if there is such a thing in a game like this, but be prepared to have to put the work in to achieve the maximum three star ratings.

If you do nab the top price on a level, a Trophy version opens up: harder and more direct, but with the reward of some silverware at the end (and Dyad comes with a Platinum) – and each level also features a ‘remix’ mode, which boasts some of the weirder visual effects once you get past the starting line. Dyad’s a wickedly strong looking game, but some of the effects must be really pushing the hardware, especially when you consider it’s running at 60fps in 1080p.

Alongside the graphics is some of the most reactive, responsive music I’ve heard in a game of this ilk. It syncs perfectly to what’s going on, much more than something like Rez ever did and makes a huge difference to the connection with the player – indeed, one of the first side challenges requires you to use your ears rather than your eyes, a clever diversion but one that simply reinforces the idea that this is a game that almost insists you have a decent sound system as much as you have a TV capable of doing the aesthetics justice.

I’m loving this so far. The game’s not yet finished and wrapped up, so I’m reluctant to drop down a score until I’ve at least ticked off a few of the trophy levels and hammered away at the leaderboards – there’s so much depth to the gameplay that I just want to dive back in and play some more, figuring out ways to go faster and score higher. That said, I’ve no hesitations so far in recommending this to anyone, it really is sublime and deserved of big praise.

Dyad is out next week in the States on PS3 (it’s a $15 download), with a European release date to be confirmed. To read my interview with the creator, click here, and to watch Peter trying out the first few levels click here.