Faraday Protocol Review

Nintendo Switch review code provided by publisher.

First person shooter puzzle set on a futuristic Egyptian looking semi abandoned environment. Also it bares some similarities to Portal. Find out more as we take a look at Faraday Protocol, developed by Red Koi Box and published by Deck13 Spotlight.

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4/5, XBOX One, XBOX Series X/S, Steam

Genres: FPS (First Person Shooter), Puzzle, Sci-Fi

Difficulty: Medium

Length: 5+ hours (Depends on puzzle game skill)

G-Rating: Good

Plot Summary: An explorer is on a mission to uncover the truth behind a mysterious place identified as “Opis”. Once inside one of the structures an AI communicates with the explorer and has him take on increasingly more challenging puzzles. He has no choice but to go along with it in hopes of discovering the purpose of the puzzles and Opis itself.

As mentioned in the introduction the game has the explorer on an extraterrestrial landscape with buildings shaped like futuristic black and gold Egyptian pyramids full of puzzles, hieroglyphs and statues reminiscent of Egyptian deities. Thus the presentation is simple for an FPS but nice to look at. The dominant black and gold colors help the others besides orange and blue stand out. Then there is the rare view of the pretty and mysterious forest like outer setting with all of Opis encased in some kind of dome. The soundtrack like the graphics are simple but effective. Apart from the start of the game, start of puzzles and dramatic scenes where the explorer takes in the environment and learns more about the purpose of it all, there is no music while tackling the puzzles so as to not take away from players’ concentration. The available music fits the mysterious vibe the game is going for.

On to the gameplay. As mentioned in the introduction the game gives off Portal vibes in that the explorer uses a ray gun that absorbs and fires orange and blue elemental energy to activate contraptions and open doors to progress. No warping through instant warp holes though. The orange element is composed of fire and used to activate or blast triggers/statues from afar while the blue element is composed of electricity and usually acts like an electric chain to transfer energy. Uses for the energy include activating certain statues, open doors, walk across colored pathways, bounce on colored pads from certain heights and more. While there are no portals there are barriers that block progress so long as the gun is loaded with energy of the same color. Besides the elements there are four recurring symbols used in matching puzzles either through energy or button presses. There are also some platforming sections. Nothing complicated, just times players will have to jump besides on the aforementioned colored “trampolines”. Fortunately there is no fall damage in the game. Lastly throughout the structure there are secret switches that reveal optional collectibles.

The name of the game is paying attention to the environment and what contraptions trigger which doors. Players will notice there are times energy is absorbed or fired from long distances be it from a high altitude to the bottom and vice versa. Sometimes not all statues/triggers need be pressed to progress in a section. The difficulty depends on how observant players are and their experience with environmental puzzle games. Personally I got stuck a few times but other players may find the puzzles easier. Most of them are manageable but do not be surprised to get stumped from time to time.

Overall Faraday Protocol is a simple and effective first person puzzle game with light platforming elements. Besides the story, the presentation and gameplay are easy to understand but challenging to master. While adapt players can breeze through the game in less than 100 minutes like other games getting that good takes time. Recommended to fans of 3D puzzle games.