Tartarus review: Highs Gradually Turn to Lows
By matthewclarke-November 27, 2017
This is a world where interstellar travel is the norm but computer technology hasn’t progressed past MS-DOS
No Easy Fixes
Tartarus casts you as the cook on a spaceship when something goes wrong. The player is directed by Andrews, a disembodied voice. Andrews directs the player to different areas of the spaceship that require repairs, or calibrations. What sets Tartarus apart is the fact that the player, when sent to the engine room, is not then tasked with finding a large red button labelled “Fix the Engine and Make Ship Go”. [caption id="attachment_20671" align="alignnone" width="1680"]
I think something is wrong here[/caption]
Hardware and Software Needs Updating
As mentioned in the introduction, while at first the setting is interesting, the shine quickly fades. The ship has a charming aesthetic ripped from 70’s and 80’s sci-fi films such as Blade Runner and Alien. This is a world where interstellar travel is the norm but computer technology hasn’t progressed past MS-DOS running on the BBC Micro. The first couple of rooms the player finds themselves in look great. The texture work and lighting are excellent and the rooms at the beginning of the game have a wonderfully lived in feel. The bridge of the ship is strewn with used coffee cups and jackets from the crew, there’s plenty of personality on display in the beginning. [caption id="attachment_20666" align="alignnone" width="1600"]
Old School Cool[/caption]
Taking a Turn for the Boring
Eventually, when you venture further into the ship the level design deteriorates into a series of empty rectangular rooms lacking any sort of personality. Often in games like this where the player character is left on their own for the vast majority of the game the world is given some flavour and depth. This is often achieved through journals and memos to read, Tartarus unfortunately, doesn’t include any of this and its absence was noted.The puzzles can be extremely difficult but there is a clear line of logic running through them
Where the fun is
The puzzles are the highlight in Tartarus. Your character is a cook, almost totally lacking in technical know-how. The player gets some guidance from Andrews the aforementioned disembodied voice and it’s up to the player to figure out how to complete the task. The puzzles are text based; the player will access crew-members terminals and fix what needs fixing. This reviewer has never used Linux, according to research around the game the OS the player uses in Tartarus is based on BASH. [caption id="attachment_20670" align="alignnone" width="1680"]
This might not look it, but this really is a lot of fun... I wonder if it runs Doom[/caption]
Cooper’s exasperation is, at times, hilarious
Doing Things for Good Reasons
The player is given coherent and plot relevant reasons for completing the puzzles and that was appreciated. The puzzles include networking workstations, correcting the amount of pressure in pneumatic doors so they will open, sending distress signals. The player will search directories for the correct programs, read through .txt files for the correct calibrations for different workings on the ship. The puzzles can be extremely difficult but there is a clear line of logic running through them and that is appreciated. The developers recommend keeping a pen and paper for notes and that was good advice. The way these puzzles are presented also adds several layers of immersion to the gameplay. [caption id="attachment_20668" align="alignnone" width="1600"]
A lovely setting before its lost its charm[/caption]
Nice Talking to You
The voice acting is uniformly great in this title. The player character Cooper voices his frustration at tasks that are clearly beyond his remit. The acting is believable and Cooper’s exasperation is, at times, hilarious. The rest of the sound design is functional; most of the player’s time on the ship is spent in silence broken by the hum of a workstation and the tapping of a keyboard.the advice here would be, wait for a sale
No Reason for a Return Visit
There isn’t going to be much here in terms of replayability, once every puzzle is solved there doesn’t seem to be a reason to play through again. The price point is also bit too high for the product that is on offer, this is however a fun experience and if what you’ve read sounds interesting, the advice here would be, wait for a sale. [caption id="attachment_20669" align="alignnone" width="1600"]
The charm had been lost at this point[/caption]
