Secrets of Raetikon (PC) Review

It is pretty clear the developers of Secrets of Raetikon had a great concept for a game and tried to put some very interesting and neat ideas into the gameplay. The bird that serves as the playable avatar controls in a distinctive way, and requires very precise inputs in order to make it fly and glide around in a mostly satisfying, but sometimes frustrating fashion. The paper craft world is unique and very lovely looking in its style, complete with animals that live their own lives, becoming hindrances in their own right, as they try to kill the bird as it goes about soaring and exploring.

The interaction necessary to reach certain areas is handled cleverly in a couple of instances. For example, since it is difficult for the bird to swim and reach far underwater, it is possible to grab hold of a rock with its feet and use it to sink down to lower depths, accessing hidden areas. Sometimes the most practical solution is not always the most obvious, but when experiments like this come off, some credit has to be given to intelligent puzzle implementations.

It doesn't always feel fun and intelligent, though, unfortunately. Rather, playing Secrets of Raetikon grows tiresome and aggravating on many an occasion. The premise isn't explained from the start, save from the odd control pop-up on how to move around, nor does it really need to be - it is apparent that some strange mechanical contraptions need to be fed triangle artefacts in order to complete the game, whilst smaller apparatus need other little orbs to function to open up new areas. This isn't a huge world to explore, by any stretch of the imagination, but a Metroid-like map really should have been included to know what spots to return to if getting stuck there, and where certain locations of interest are.

Enemy animals can prove extremely bothersome, as they like to attack and cling onto the bird to pull it down at any given opportunity, never giving a moment's rest, as well as steal the artefacts that need to be brought back to the starting area, running off and playing with them. It is all part of the gameplay, but some of these creatures are far too difficult to deal with, where minutes and minutes get wasted in having to put up with trying to kill them or get the artefacts back without them coming back to rob it again. The constant need to tussle with them and then go back and forth to retrieve an artefact, have it stolen, retrieve it again, and have it stolen again, just grows too painful.

The interaction of the land is a good idea, with the bird using its claws to pull up small trees to uncover life orbs, grab animals to fling them away, and lift up rocks to reveal secret areas. Again, though, there can be awkward moments in attempting to push and pull rocks out of the way, with lots of fiddling around to get paths open. This is one of those games that require patience and a lot of perseverance to get by.

It is difficult to understand just what message Secrets of Raetikon is trying to get across in the end. There is clearly some sort of story embedded in there, with rune stones featuring scripts that need deciphering by collecting hidden letters, as it tries to explain an ancient mystery gone by, but the ending is absolutely bizarre, leaving a sense of bewilderment at what just happened. The artistic flair is there, and so are the ideas to create something unique, but it just ends up a weary affair that offers very little reason to keep playing. Controller issues, bugs and crashes (which should hopefully be patched up in time) don't do it any favours, either.