Verne: The Shape of Fantasy Review

The war against the Nation is turning dire, and the resistance aboard the Nautilus is growing desperate. In a last-ditch attempt to turn the war, Captain Nemo turns to myth and legend in his search for an item from the ancient Atlantean civilisation — the Flame of Hephaestus — in hopes of being able to attain a sliver of its power. Acquiring it may just be what the world needs to turn over a new leaf and be able to return to order once again.

In Verne: The Shape of Fantasy, you take control of Jules Verne (based on the writer of the same name), a man who seems to be able to control the Imag (a device I’ll go into more detail about later in the review) and might be able to use this powerful device to turn the war and save Hemera. In this fantasy 2D puzzle title, you'll face the horrors of the Nation and work in a desperate attempt to turn it around... yet, this story won't just follow a clear-cut black-and-white morality.

While Gametopia's title may sell itself like a puzzle adventure, it definitely works more closely to a narrative-driven 2D title. Sure, throughout each of the chapters, there is a slew of puzzles and mysteries to solve, but you'll spend the vast majority of the time listening to dialogue and making it through the narrative itself. It's an interesting and compelling story, and though it doesn't try to redefine the genre, I was particularly fond of one of the things that makes this experience stand out the most: its atmosphere.

Hemera is a beautifully pixelated world, and everything about this title — from the beginning cutscene to the various locations you'll explore — screams, "Admire me". The environments are gorgeous, the sound design is splendidly done, and though some of the voice acting felt a bit off at times, it's impressive that every line of dialogue is acted, and it brought a lot of life to the experience. The beautiful graphics and scenery are definitely an upside, and it adds a lot to the narrative flow as well, as everything is cleverly built in a way that ensures it isn't too gory or horrendous, but you feel the horrors that the Nation leaves behind with their presence.

Scattered throughout these environments are the narrative experience overall and the gameplay crumbs that guide you to your next point. Earlier, I mentioned the Imag: this unique device has the powerful capability to find fractures in the timeline and rewrite history, if even only slightly. Its narrative limitations allow the experience not to feel like an absolute waste (because why wouldn't Verne just say, "The war never happened" and move on with it?), and gameplay-wise, it gives you the capability to explore different timelines in order to advance the puzzles.

This unique system is very enjoyable, as you'll be able to choose from different options at each time rift to advance. The main problem? It didn't feel like Verne: The Shape of Fantasy utilised this system nearly as much as I wished it would. At the beginning of each chapter, you take control of a Verne that, for the most part, doesn't have the Imag at the ready. With only your wits, you'll be tasked to complete a series of puzzles that sometimes feel a bit point-and-click-ey. Each chapter and world is relatively small, so it doesn't take a long time to find the item you're looking for to advance, and in that same simplicity lies the flaws of the title: it can be a little slow.

As a short, five-ish hour title, Verne: The Shape of Fantasy is great to experience over an afternoon, but the same voice acting, cutscenes, and slow gameplay feels like it drags on the five hours a bit. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, yet when part of the chapter revolves around trying to get the gimmick of the title back, it felt like half of the time I was playing the intended vision of Verne: The Shape of Fantasy and the other half I was playing a 2D puzzle title that doesn't build to innovate much.

Sprinkled throughout the experience are stealth sections that might seem like a bore at first, but it's relatively simple, for better or worse. Enemy patterns and movements can be predictable, which takes away from the stress of stealth that I've always hated, and it did have a lite feeling to it all that ensured I did feel like I was enjoying the bits of tension it brought forth. But again, in the gameplay, it felt like it was a little short.

The problem begins when you start catching the pattern of the experience overall: you start the world with a clear goal in mind, which can be anything from walking forward until you discover your goal to directions from a character; you find said goal, and you get a new quest that tells you what to do, usually a main and side quest; you complete that and get your Imag and can start shaping the reality; you finish the level.

That's the tricky part of Verne: The Shape of Fantasy: though it seems like a puzzle title, it definitely leans on its narrative a lot. Caring for Verne and the story is simple, especially with the charm the voice actors bring to the experience and the environment overall, but enjoying the gameplay is a bit tricky at times. It isn't boring because the puzzles and the unique way the item interaction system works take away from the tediousness of being lost. It feels great to play with a responsive character and informative environment and UI — the worlds are intuitively built — but the lack of challenge felt more like a walking simulator with puzzle breaks in between.

Priced at £12.79 to begin your journey, it isn't difficult to recommend Verne: The Shape of Fantasy to fans of the genre. The narrative is enjoyable, and it oozes charm in every way, with beautiful graphics, impressive voice acting, and an engaging world. Yet, for those who aren't already veterans and looking for their next narrative-driven puzzle title, it won't be the game to change your mind about the genre overall.