The first thing you will probably think when looking at Surphasm is that it looks amateurish. And it does. Even I was turned off the first time I played it, not only because of its appearance but also because controlling the creature you are given can be an infuriating experience. However, there was something about it that intrigued me and I decided to look a little deeper and pull back the skin. The more I played, the more I realised that despite its obvious flaws, it was actually a pretty successful experimental puzzle game. It grew on me.

You take control of a strange creature with a wiggling tail, who has been hatched in a deep underwater cave and must attempt to reach the surface. After the first couple of screens, which are relatively simple, it quickly becomes apparent that you must choose a path to take (there are multiple ways to complete the game). The strange puzzles are what make the game stand out: they range from trying to get passed a mirror image of yourself, strange contraptions that you must control and getting through barriers. These are what you need to conquer and they are also what make the game a rewarding and endearing experiment that works.

Download the game here.