14 DAY TRIAL // 
Secrets of Raetikon is a weird kind of adventure game that has you play as a bird, soaring through the skies in search of long-forgotten secrets and learning how to use the ecosystem to your advantage.
It's a highly atmospheric 2D game in which you assume control of a brightly-colored aviary specimen and proceed to navigate the world, searching for the mysterious glowy thingies which power ancient pieces of machinery, finding various inscriptions along the way, in a quest to discover what happened to the ancient Raetic civilization.
The game was made by independent developer Broken Rules, and those who know the studio's previous title, Chasing Aurora, will instantly recognize the visual direction as well as the gameplay, as Secrets of Raetikon is the Wii U exclusive game's spiritual successor.
Taking on Chasing Aurora's strong points, mainly the serene experience of flight and the gorgeous and very unique art style, Secrets of Raetikon aims to solve the former's main problem, its lack of content, by enveloping gamers in a vast two-dimensional open world to explore.
Secrets of Raetikon presents itself as a game of exploration and discovery more than one of fast-paced action, but unlike other attempts to deliver a more eerie and non-traditional experience, this game also manages to pack some actual gameplay.
As you explore the world, you'll notice that there are neutral animals as well as hostile ones, protecting their habitats and hunting for prey, and you'll have to fight or elude them as you go by, and sometimes even resort to picking up a hapless creature of the forest and using it as bait so as to be left to your own devices.
Other hostiles are on par with you and you'll be able to feed them some of their own medicine – by grabbing them and rotating through the air, then projecting them in various spiked plants and other such hazards.
The world is very rich in interactivity, from uprooting saplings in order to regain lost life points to picking up eggs and placing them in nests, or throwing them on the rocks to break them and get to the gooey insides.
Almost everything can be grabbed and dragged around, from plants to rocks to other creatures, which allows you to solve puzzles and get to otherwise inaccessible areas.
Even trees move as you go through them, and the collision causes you to lose momentum, but also offers shelter from incoming hostiles and sometimes a much-needed shortcut.
The gameplay seems a bit drab at first, but it soon becomes apparent that it offers a unique platforming experience in which you move in a very natural way, flapping your wings mightily when going against gusts of wind and plummeting to the ground from the skies with a grace that soon becomes second nature.
The bad part is that the cryptic messages don't tell you very much, and there is not much interaction with the many denizens of the world except for the basic type of bird vs. bird action. If you want a Princess Mononoke game with ornithological influences, you'll be disappointed.
The sounds also play a big role in establishing Secrets of Raetikon's atmosphere, being of the same minimalistic facture and ranging from wind chimes and various caws to the constant sound of gushing wind, feeling very evocative of the heights you soar toward.
The Good
- Gorgeous visuals
- Interesting mechanics
- Engaging
The Bad
- Lacks depth
- A bit monotonous
Conclusion
That would have been truly great. Instead, the game is merely getting a passing grade and some props for its style and unique features. You won't be disappointed if you know what you're getting into, as the exploration aspect is well executed, the game throwing something new into the experience with every new area you progress through.
You will just be left with a feeling of lingering yearning, the realization that the game could have been much more if the developers would have opted to go in another direction with it.
As it is, Secrets of Raetikon will provide some moments of wonder and will elicit excitement from fans of exploration games, but will disappoint those looking for something with more depth, aside from the striking visual journey.
