Membrane

Membrane (2018) is a traversal puzzle game where you fire blocks into the world to build, bend and break the platforms. Play involves running and jumping around the world, more unusually you can change the levels by firing objects that work with the game physics in different ways.

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It's a game set in the brain of a person who wants to swat a fly. Each level you complete gets the person's neurons closer to commanding the hand and arm into action. It's a strange back-story, but one that matches the brain-bending fun. More than making precise jumps or running to collect the two synapses on each level, the real challenge is figuring out how to use your different blocks in conjunction with the game's physics to get to them.

You are soon creating bendy bridges, wobbly ladders and shaky structures using the blocks at your disposal. Care must be taken as your supply of blocks is limited. You can also step on switches in the world to activate rotating elements that open more ways to collect the synapses. Finally, you can also fire bullets that destroy structures and let you collect blocks for later use.

The result is a brain game without the usual right-thinking solutions. The levels have been designed to be taxing, but don't restrict you to one specific answer. Some clever thinking will help, but so will a lateral approach or coming up with novel solutions.

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Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Membrane 18 months ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 17 months ago.