See No Evil Review: A darker puzzle game

Have you ever considered where the human race is headed on an evolutionary scale? Will we develop wings thousands of years in the future? Will we evolve the ability to breathe underwater? Well, Noetic Games explores the darker side of the future human evolution question in their game See No Evil.

In See No Evil, humans have evolved a little backwards. They decided over time to "shut their eyes," and in doing so lost their sight. Humans now rely solely on sound and smell to know what is going on around them. The concept is a little dark, and the game is too, but it is fabulous.

See No Evil is a top down, third-person, puzzle game. Sound is an integral part of the game from the start, and smell comes into play later on. In the beginning, the character's actions are limited. He can walk around and scream; these are the two most important features. When the character walks, sound waves issue from his feet. And when he screams, sound waves travel away from him and fan out.

Guards prowl most of the maps, and if any sound waves touch them, they immediately come after the source. This is where being sneaky is incredibly important. Sometimes you have to distract the guards with sound in one area while you maneuver yourself into another area.

Like most puzzle games, See No Evil features floor buttons that need to be pressed to lower or raise walls. Moveable crates come in handy for both holding down buttons or holding down walls. One thing unique to See No Evil is the use of what look like phonograph horns. These are used to redirect the character's screams to wherever they need to go.

See No Evil

The puzzles are increasingly difficult, and some of the "easy" ones can still be trickier than most. In my time with See No Evil, there was at least one puzzle that completely stumped me, to the point of almost giving up. So for those that enjoy demanding puzzle games, See No Evil is a great addition to your collection.

A tag line sticks to the top of the screen on many levels, and a narrator adds to the story as you go along. Often, the line of narration at the top of the screen becomes a clue on how to pass through the puzzles.

The narration is haunting. One of the best lines I heard in the game was: "A friend once told me, the world seems darker with your eyes open." It follows perfectly with the premise of humans being blind, but it's incredibly thought provoking on a personal level too. That's one of the greatest things about See No Evil — it's relatively simple in its mechanics, but very deep and complicated in its message.

See No Evil

Puzzle games can come off as either overly simplistic or too complicated. See No Evil finds a great balance between being tough, while still being fun and engaging. While some of the puzzles might bring the story to a momentary halt, they are not impossible. The story is unique and addicting, if not slightly dark. But it leads you to wonder what will happen to the main character as he tries to find his way past his fellow blind humans. Where will his journey take him?

Pick up See No Evil for $14.99 from Steam to find out for yourself.