Games

PAX '12: Preview - Mental Drift

By Sean Booker
September 11, 2012 - 10:07

One of the more interesting games I heard about during PAX this year was Lo and Behold! Games's Mental Drift. A small game company just starting out. Mental Drift is a game where the thoughts of your protagonist are used to interact and traverse the environment. I was very interested in the game after hearing this concept but, to my disappointment, was unable to locate the game.

It wasn't until after PAX had ended and I came across the people behind Lo and Behold! Games that I finally got more of what Mental Drift actually is. For anyone else at PAX who may not have been able to locate their booth, it was placed in the band camp section, far removed from most of the video game expo hall. Luckily enough for myself, I was still able to see the build presented at the convention and finally get to play through the demo.

Mental Drift is a sidescrolling puzzle platformer that is entirely about your thoughts. At any point during the game, you may hit the TAB button and a line of text will appear above your protagonist, expressing how they feel about the situation. You can usually cycle through two or three thoughts before needing to decide what to do next. All while trying to chance down the mystery surrounding the woman you seek.

What is really interesting about this premise is that in order to get around some obstacles, and complete some puzzles, you will need to literally click and drag specific words from your thoughts into the environment to cause an effect. For example, all words can simply be used as a platform to jump on, while some words like "bounce" and "storm" can make your character jump high and destory trees respectively.

This mechanic gets even more interesting when you use worlds like "avoid" to create a pathway behind the current area in order to avoid the large pit a spikes that once blocked your path.

Though the demo wasn't long, it definitely left an impression. Speaking with Richard Weschler (Creative Director) and Shannon Meissner (Art Ambassador) about the game I learned that they're planning a Kickstarter in the future to help fund it. And after having seen and played what I did, I know I'll be keeping my eye out for that. At the moment there is no way to actually play or even see any of what Mental Drift is as their website is still being fully developed and filled. Weschler assures me that game assets and the site are being worked on right now. If you're wanting more from the company immediately,  your best bet is following them on Twitter.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12