Review by GamingCouchPotato.co.uk Staff
The Long Gate is an exploration game, whereby you solve puzzles to progress. Nice and simple right? Not quite, this is a challenging game.
The game itself lets you play how you want, there is no fixed order for the puzzles, for example you do not need to complete one to get to the next, so you really can choose which puzzles you want to take on and in which order, if one is too hard, come back to it later. And more than that the puzzles do not have a one solution outcome, many puzzles have multiples way to be solved.
There are three classes of puzzle, Digital, Analog and Quantum, there are helpful hints if you get stuck. All circuit board based. So basically, you need to solve a puzzle to get power from one part to another.
Apparently, the puzzles are based on real world technologies, and everything is very accurate, we know this as everything has been verified by D-Wave Systems, the world's first commercial quantum computer company.
Although the puzzles are tricky, you do not necessarily need a background in the STEM fields, but if you do, then you might find things even more enjoyable.
Along with an original soundtrack by Nick Newman, you will find yourself exploring beautiful ancient caverns, and glorious scenes of nature.
As you solve the puzzles you will solve the mystery of what happens to the people who created them.
With all that said, is the game any good?
The Good
The soundtrack is wonderful, the puzzles although very challenging are well thought out.
The Bad
Performance on the Switch is poor, it really should be better, but this game has been ported from the PC, and such it is a PC game, and you should probably go play it on a PC instead of the Switch. There is also a lot of assumption by the game makers, they assume too much of the player, and I fear that younger gamers, or people just trying this game out might be disappointed by the lack of help the game gives you at the start.
Overall
Good game, but not on the Nintendo Switch, such a shame as the concept is good, but needs tweaking, especially in the performance department. If you like hard, logic-based puzzle games, then this is for you, but go get it on PC instead.
I Score The Long Gate - Nintendo Switch as sad 5/10
