A Tale of Synapse: The Chaos Theories Review (PC)

I move a cube around to create some extra height for a double jump up to a ledge, before slashing one enemy that seems more afraid of me than I am of it. I then manipulate a few shapes into designated areas to get some more currency for upgrades. A short conversation points me towards the solution for the area I am currently exploring. It’s then just a matter of pushing a few buttons and pulling a lever before I get the wheel mechanism at the center of the room to work. I finally solve another jumping puzzle and get to the exit before investing in a better attack and faster movement for the zones ahead.

A Tale of Synapse: The Chaos Theories is a title developed by Souris-Lab and published by Tesure Games. I engaged with it on Steam, and it can also be played on the Nintendo made Switch.

The story is built around Nero and Sci, two well-designed characters that explore their world called Hemeide. This fantasy space is built on lairs of traditional knowledge and the pair seeks to challenge these axioms and make their peers more open-minded. There are plenty of other characters to meet and exchange a few lines of dialogue with.

The Synapsians sometimes give hints about the universe and often talk more like children rather than adults (or maybe the game was translated from French and did a bad job?). But the world itself serves mostly as a backdrop to introduce a variety of puzzle challenges and plenty of platforming.

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Nero is the more active of the pair. He can run, jump, fight in a pretty standard action platformer manner. The movement is a little imprecise, but the movement puzzles are not too hard to figure out or execute. Sci, as the sidekick, allows the player to see an alternate version of the world, required to solve logical problems that open gates and allow for progress. Because the creature flies it also can drag some shapes and boxes around. If Nero has a red apple the two can also interact to gain a clue. There are moments when controlling Sci feels a little weird, but the duo works well together most of the time.

The logic puzzles in A Tale of Synapse are mostly easy. A quick look around, a vision shifts from Sci, and, maybe, a hint drop will reveal the solution. From there it’s just a matter of executing the requires moves and jumps to get to the solution. All the puzzles are designed around geometry and algebra, most very straightforward and some kind of deep. They feel like they are designed to help a young gamer learn or solidify knowledge about the subjects, which is a worthy goal that is approached well.

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For an adult player, the beauty of the world and the feeling of discovery is what kept me playing. The game rarely frustrates, and the atmosphere is charming, so I pushed forward to see how the world evolves and how Nero interacts with other Synapsians. I wished for more meaningful interactions, both between the central pair and between them and other characters. I also wished for puzzles that somehow managed to both challenge and adult and be accessible for younger players, which I know is hard to deliver.

A Tale of Synapse: The Chaos Theories is a beautiful video game. The universe is built from numbers, geometric shapes, sharp edges, abstract-looking art, well-placed platforms, and carefully placed color. The game really manages to integrate the look and the gameplay. Both Nero and Sci have personalities despite a relative lack of character details, although the same cannot be said of other characters. Dialogue is also rendered in a made-up language that sounds weird (text only would have been a better choice) but the soundtrack is great, underlining the whimsy nature of this adventure and the beauty of the world.

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The Good

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