ChromaGun
Welcome to ChromaTec’s test lab! You’re here to test our newest, state-of-the-art military-grade color-technology: The ChromaGun (patent pending)! Use it to try and solve our meticulously designed test chambers. The basic principle is as easy as applying it is complex: Exit the chambers via the exit doors. But be weary of the WorkerDroids in charge of maintaining the chambers. They’re not exactly what you and I would call “human friendly”. Use the ChromaGun to colorize walls and WorkerDroids to progress in the chambers. WorkerDroids are attracted to walls of the same color. Using that mechanic, try to reach the exit door of each chamber. Some doors are more complicated to use than others: They can only be opened using door triggers and only stay open as long as the triggers are occupied.
Game Discussion
Steam User 11
My Playtime: 3.2h (100% achievement, finished the game)
Grindy Achievement(s): Yes (1 achievement that takes 0.1h).
Optional Achievement(s): Yes (9 achievements).
Difficult Achievement(s): No.
Intro
ChromaGun is a 3D puzzle game where you are armed with a gun that can shoot colored paint. The main mechanic relies on moving WorkerDroids around by shooting walls with the same color as the droid to pull them in. It has 57 levels in total, spread over 8 chapters.
Pros:
- 57 levels with a new mechanic in each chapter
- Most levels are easy to figure out
Cons:
-Some levels are timed
Specs
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, 16GB RAM, AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT
Should you buy this game?
If you enjoy 3D puzzle games like Portal, buy it on a sale.
In-Depth Review
The Game
Playing ChromaGun feels like playing Portal; it starts off with you signing up for a testing program with a narrator accompanying you. You get a gun, but instead of making portals, the gun shoots colored paint, which will pull WorkerDroids if their color matches the color of the wall. You can paint either the WorkerDroid or the wall, provided that it's not covered by a certain armor.
The game uses the RYB color wheel in its gameplay. You need to know what a color will become if you place another color on top of it. The game might give you this information randomly, but it'll be better to have it memorized during the playthrough. Some levels can be timed and require speed to solve, which will be impossible to finish if you don't know about the color wheel already.
There are 8 chapters in total, separated into 7+ levels each, totaling to 57 levels. The first three chapters are easy to finish, although the difficulty will increase as you play. It's never got to the point where it's impossible to solve, but I did get stuck on some levels a few times. That being said, I still find it to be at the right difficulty for me. You don't need to think too hard or think out of the box to solve them, but they aren't exactly easy either.
Some levels are timed. Although there are only a small number of these levels, I hate it when the game forces you to finish a level in a limited time. I prefer to solve the puzzles at my own pace, and having a timed puzzle like this just means that I have to die several times until I remember everything that I need to do.
The game tries to keep the levels fresh by introducing new mechanics, although they still feel the same after a while. However, I hated the last chapter's mechanic. It requires you to use the gun's ricochet to paint somewhere else. The thing is, it's hard to aim in the direction that you want, and it can be hard to see which wall was colored, especially when the view is obstructed by a wall.
Length and Difficulty
I finished the game in 3.1h. During that time, I got all but one grindy achievement, which I obtained after 0.1h of grinding. The game's difficulty is at the right difficulty for me. You don't need to think too hard to solve most of them, especially since they are quite easy to figure out.
Conclusion
The Portal influence feels strong in ChromaGun. However, it still tries to separate itself from Portal while still trying to give the same feeling. The puzzles are not hard, but there are plenty of them to keep your mind occupied. However, since the game is very short, I'd rather recommend buying it on sale.
Steam User 2
I'm mixed, but erring on positive. I paid just over £2 for this because of a sale, and it was worth it, but it's not a perfect game. Set aside 4 hours and you can 100% it which I think is probably the best way to play it.
The colour mechanics are clever, and intuitive, and they make good use of them. There's a bit too much repetition in the very early levels but after that the puzzles were generally unique enough to be interesting, despite there being very few different pieces for them to work with.
The mechanics unfortunately mean that it's very possible (even easy sometimes) to softlock yourself and have to restart the level. Levels are short, so I didn't find it as bad as some other reviewers, but it is there, and it can be a bit frustrating. What I had more trouble with is how often you need to fire accurately, in the right colour, while under pressure. I did ragequit a few times because of that, but came back a few minutes later.
Another issue is I completed a couple of levels the wrong way by accident, basically skipping the puzzle. Those could have done with a bit more playtesting and tweaking I think.
It looks nice enough, and it works well with a 2560x1080 resolution, which isn't always a given. The voice acting is pretty good. I don't think I ever laughed, but it helps.
Overall it's a decent puzzle game. It's not one of my favourites - there's workshop support with user-made levels, but I'm not interested in playing more. But it's worth a try if you like this sort of thing and want a game you can complete in a short time. (And you'll enjoy it more if you're not so clumsy and panicky as me!) There's a sequel announced which looks a lot more elaborate so I hope they manage to make that a success.
Steam User 1
Awesome!
I especially loved the little Portal references! A great puzzle game with very different difficulty levels in each section. I got it bundled with part 2 and I'm going to play that one right away! :D
PS: Forgot that the studio behind that game is german... I could have played it in german the whole time?! D: But the english narrator is aslo very good! ^^
Steam User 1
i did really like the puzzles, but I thought the story was a bit boring. the antagonist goes for long periods without even showing up, and when he is there, he tends to say something sarcastic and then disappear again. i really only played this game to prepare for the sequel. it isn't disappointing, per se, but don't get your expectations too high. if you like puzzles, i would give this game a try.
Steam User 0
Originally gave this a thumbs down but I came back and persevered. Quite a fun game but also very frustrating, because unlike other puzzle games it doesn't teach you a mechanic. It just throws it at you and hopes you're not thick as ♥♥♥♥ as I am
Steam User 0
Completed, it was okay, not great but not bad. Would have liked more mechanics towards the end and maybe slightly more of Richard/Narrator, especially sometimes new mechanics could have had him to hint towards those.
Steam User 0
Fun puzzle game. Reminds me a bit of Portal and Half life. I got the sequel first and started it up and realized there was a bit of backstory at the start so I got this as well and it's worth playing through first. it's a pretty short game but well done.