Introduction
Tess is the kind of moody indie platformer that a contest like the Indie Game Maker Contest 2014 begs. As of now, it is #1 on the Most Buzzing Games list, and it took less than an hour for me to complete (I don't know exactly how long, I wasn't measuring sadly). It was created using a custom engine, using the Java programming language, with original soundtrack and spritework. According to its gamepage, it has classic run'n'gun gameplay that reminds me of Cave Story. Like Cave Story, it has an experience meter that fills up with the more experience balls (I'm not saying orbs, I like balls) that you collect.

Story
Tess wakes up in her very green bed in her very green home. She walks out to the lounge, where her protective, cat-purse-mouthed older sister takes care of her like a mother. "Don't be late home for supper!" she says, in the most motherly tone she can muster. Incomprehensibly, Tess starts off with a gun from the very start. Something very sad has happened yesterday. A tall young man consoles Tess for it. The game exudes an air of mystery and suspense that I liked. We travel through various zones filled with monsters, including a Glen. We are warned not to go to the lookout point, though. Milly has invited Tess via a letter placed on Tess' doorstep to visit her at the lookout, where she proposes a very brave dare. Little do they know, this may have disastrous results. The story has its twists and turns, keeping the player on their toes, giving them just enough to bread to follow the trail. Granted, the dialogue is limited, but I'm sure you'll enjoy the story for what it is. It's minimal, but it doesn't overreach its bounds, and I guess that's to be commended in a world full of overstuffed style-over-substance plots. This opts for some more traditional cliches to do with dreams and death, but I won't spoil anything for you.



(Audio?)visual Presentation
Graphics are a sickly saturated green to begin with, a tone that I did not find pleasing to the eyes, no matter how well-drawn the characters and environment were. However, this becomes more beautiful later on when we are treated to Winter-Wonderland-esque snowscapes and deliberately minimal and surreal line-based environments. The last third of the game in particular had a beautifully stark, contrasting look that might give you shivers (in a good way). Animation is crisp, the moon and background environments are beautiful, and the mirrored floor near the end is a delectable treat.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get my sound to work for some reason, so I didn't get to hear the music. I won't judge on that front, but I read that the music is entirely original. If it's up to the standard of the visuals, it will at least be a competent score.

Gameplay (the meat of the matter, I guess)
Despite some games being a treat visual-wise, some of them fail in the gameplay sector. This game does not. Tess teases us with some delicious treats and innovative mechanics, albeit the main focus is derivative of the Cave Story game. Even if the developer has never played Cave Story, the RPG-infused pixelated shooter genre has been perfected by the indie game Cave Story and has not been topped since. I swear that this game gets inspiration from the classic, from its crisp particle effects and experience balls (not orbs) that give you perks. That along with its visual style, it hearkens back to the awesome platformer (which, if you haven't played, you should definitely check out).

Inspirations aside, this game is different from Cave Story both in scope and in certain gameplay mechanics. In the snow level, there is an innovative mechanic where you can fall down the bottom half of the screen and appear at the top. This calls for some interesting mechanics that could have been explored more, given a longer game. This short game is a good teaser of what might be to come (the developer has suggested that they will create more of this game, an extended version if you will).



There are several kinds of monsters:

• Slimesthat jump around and generally get in your way (they're easy)

• Plantsthat spew little balls (damage ones. again, they're not orbs) all around

• Beesthat buzz around your ears

• Snowballsthat have taken a life of their own (probably due to Elsa's magic

• Crystallic creaturesthat shoot out crystalline spikes when they die (they can hurt you. OMG these are so OP it's ridiculous. I hate them.

• Abstract crying turdswho shoot little poops at you

• Dudeswho turn stone once dead (annoying when they block small passages)

This is a good variety of enemies that are annoying and simple to beat at first, but then later on they pose a challenge that is both satisfying and rewarding. If anything, the first third of the game is quite boring and takes a while to start up, but then after that it gets a lot more interesting. Environmental hazards such as ice platforms make you slip and slide all around (whoosh!).

One bad aspect of gameplay is that enemies are set within boxes that they can't step outside. This means that if you shoot from outside their zones, you're 100% able to shoot them, and they're 0% able to shoot you. This is a kind of unfair gameplay hazard that makes some battles piss-easy even when they shouldn't be.

Platforming (jumping), being a critical thing to get right in the sidescroller genre, works mostly well, but sometimes horribly. Sometimes it just feels really clunky to jump around, especially when precision jumps are required, otherwise you bump into spikes that kill you for 2 damage (2 whole damage! That may not sound like a lot, but trust me - in this game, it is!). Sometimes, the strafing in the game is not that cool. For example, if you're shooting in one direction, then you start walking the other way, Tess will not turn her gun around, which makes it infuriating if you're trying to swat things like bees/flies (whatever they were). Later enemies were found to be more challenging, which was a good thing.

The game has a healthy dose of both difficulty and fun in turn, with plenty of deaths to warn you not to do stupid stuff and be reckless. The game being progressively better as it gets on, what starts off as a rather overly simple game turns into a fun experience, especially in the third act. However, it shouldn't take that long for players to get to the fun bits.



Conclusion
Tess is a fun run'n'gunner with a short storyline that doesn't overstep its bounds. If you think it's style-over-substance when you see the screenshots - think again. The last third of the game in particular is beautifully stark, with good gameplay and an entertaining yet satisfying final boss. The story is heartfelt and surreal. Despite its difficulties taking off in the first half, the rest is much better in terms of gameplay. But it shouldn't take that long for the game to warm up. Try Tess today if you are in the mood for a good gameplay experience with a minimal, surreal story.