The Entropy Centre

I have to start off by saying this game will feel a lot like Portal, a struggle many first-person puzzle games with a “gun” that manipulates objects have to contend with. Especially with Portal 2’s apocalyptic setting and the opening scene of both games, The Entropy Centre takes this perhaps a step further. This game does set itself apart with its main gimmick being focused on time manipulation, and most of the additional puzzle mechanics involve cubes you have to move, as opposed to Portal usually requiring those same mechanics to line up correctly. I think the game definitely stands on its own though, but it is very hard to escape the Portal comparisons with some of the choices they made.

One of my favorite aspects of the game is that since the puzzles are essentially solved in reverse, which especially for beginners in the genre might be especially welcome as the logic you might go through in any game is more directly related to the mechanic, so you see a direct result. Now it can be a bit of a trap sometimes too, as later puzzles are solved in multiple parts rather than one big chain of reversing time, but it wouldn’t be fair if the game didn’t add some challenge. Overall most things were straightforward, but there’s some bugginess especially with collisions that hurt the experience, as you could have the solution but struggle to execute.

Story wise it’s nice to be a speaking protagonist, and your robot companion Astra (who inhabits the gun) adds some good humor. I really felt the connection grow as the gravity of the situation unfolds and you begin to learn more about what has happened/is happening. The ending is maybe not the best, but overall still a solid story. If you’ve been looking for more Portal-like games, definitely pick this up.