Skater’s Solstice is exactly the same game as Shivering Stone right down to the visuals, gameplay, and soundtrack. Created by the same small team, the reused assets and gameplay only has one difference. In Shivering Stone, the player pushed blocks. In Skater’s Solstice, you are the essentially the block, portrayed as a kid on skates, where you need to reach the exit point through limited movements.
This is basically a spin-off of classic Sokoban gameplay. Apparently, the child skater never learned how to turn or stop as he can only move in the four main directions, stopping only when he bumps into a rock or the perimeter. Each of the fifty stages are more of the same, providing light challenge along the way. All Achievements are tied to clearing levels so all will be unlocked through natural play.
Speaking of difficulty, I started to get stuck around the halfway point but quickly realized that I was just an unobservant dummy. Instead of trying to figure out the correct path, the player simply needs to follow the rocks right from the start. Since each stage is hand crafted, each stopping stone has been placed in very specific spots. Therefore, if you move towards each rock as each level starts, as it is there for a reason, there is a really good chance you will complete each stage without needing to think. Therefore, the difficulty is almost nonexistent when you play this way.
This game was clearly made without a budget and intended depth. It only costs five bucks and is an easy way to earn 1,000 gamerscore in a half hour. There are, however, some odd design choices that are easy to acknowledge. For example, there is no one button restart; players need to press Start then choose to restart. The music is one looping generic public domain tune. The in-game skater doesn’t look anything like the well done box art. In some stages, the player cannot see the entire area which makes it annoying when you die by skating into spikes you couldn’t see. Finally, each stage contains three optional stars to collect but they do nothing. There is no reward of any kind for collecting them, so you are better off just heading straight for the goal.
The only reason to play this low-cost digital download is to easily increase your Gamerscore as it lacks replay value and there is no depth. However, there are worse ways to burn thirty minutes.
SCORE: 4/10
Similar To: The Traveler’s Path
Also Play: Glyphs of Gitzan
Don’t Forget About: Color Pals
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
X/Twitter: @ZackGaz
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