My last post was about a dark puzzle platformer sort of game, this post follows the same trend, in that the game I wish to speak about is also a dark puzzle game.

The Feel of Nihilumbra

This is a game which borders on nihilism. A short premise of the game would be that everything gets destroyed.

Thats it, thats all to the game. As you play through, you bring about the destruction of every place you visit. Basically, the game brings about a feeling and it is heavily hinted, that nothing has value, nothing should be worth anything, if life is only life so it can be destroyed, then why bother to live?

Those are the questions youll be forced to ask yourself should you play this game.

Nihilism is philosophical doctrine is the belief that all values are baseless. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism, which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihilism

What is nihilimbra?

This is a game created by beautifun(yeah funny name). It revolves around a piece of void, a piece of nothingness, gaining sentience and this piece escaping the void/nothingness. This sets off a chain of events that see's you controlling this piece through several stages as you try to get away from the void, all the while getting to experience different forms of life, emotions and colours.

You acquire powers and colours the more you progress through the game. Unlike other puzzle games such that you go back and forth solving intricate and complex mechanisms, the team an beautifun decided to make this game straight forward, but not necessarily simple.

In this game, youll find that you hardly need to go back to a scene you have crossed because you need something there. The game instear, offers you challenges in the form of solving puzzles using colours.

Like the first picture indicates, there are multiple colours that you acquire all through the game.

At first you escape from the void, and you are a small blob, then you see a scarecrow and you copy its shape. You find yourself in a snowy mountain, and you struggle to get things done.
You then find a flower, which you collect and you are granted the power over ice. You can use the ice to slide to move faster, and jump further.

The other colour have different powers too.

You get a green colour that allows you to bounce,

A red colour that allows you to harness the power of fire to burn enemies

A brown colour that allows you to stick to things,

A yellow colour that indicates the power of electricity that allows you to use machines

And so much more.

Part fun, part life

Like I said, the game forces you to think on things such as the meaning of life. To reinforce the dread and nihilism feeling, the game employs some emotional music to go with the feel. The music becomes tense whenever the void appears to take you back, and mellows out for the test of the gameplay.

Apart from monsters crested by the void, there is very little interaction or socialization to do with any other individual. You do not meet any NPC along the game, though I cant be sure because I am yet to finish it.

Your character is a perpertual mute whose facial espression appears to change as you play through the game.

At first, your character is amused at the world it enters, filled with amazing things and colours and ideas. But as the void destroys the worlds, you begin to feel a guilt. Then that guilt subsides and youre left with indifference.

The game tries to pin it on you, even though the narration states otherwise, that the destruction of the various environments is your fault.

The visuals of the fame appears to be hand drawn o promote some sort of realism.

verdict

All in all, the game nihilumbra is a perfect example of what a nihilist thinks of the world. The void comes after each chapter to try and retake you. But you escape.

Your escape however, leads to the destruction of the scene you were. The snowy mountains are destroyed, so you run to the forest, the forest goes, so you run to the desert etc.