Gateways

Gateways is a side-scrolling platform-adventure game where players control Ed, a scientist battling robotic monkeys to reclaim his labyrinthine laboratory. Combining Metroidvania exploration with puzzle-solving mechanics, the game features a ‘gateway gun’ for creating portals, alongside abilities like shrinking, time manipulation, and gravity reversal. Drawing inspiration from Portal and classic 2D platformers, it challenges players to navigate interconnected environments while uncovering secrets and outsmarting enemies in this indie sci-fi adventure.

Gateways: Review

Introduction:
In the bustling landscape of indie puzzle-platformers, Gateways (2012) stands as a quiet enigma—a love letter to Portal’s cerebral charm and Metroid’s exploratory allure, yet fiercely carving its own identity. Developed by the one-man powerhouse David Johnston of Smudged Cat Games, Gateways arrived not with a thunderous roar but with the meticulous click of gears in a labyrinthine laboratory. While critics initially met it with polite applause, its legacy endures as a cult classic—a game that dared to ask: What if portals could bend time, gravity, and reality itself in 2D? This review posits that Gateways, despite rough edges, is a triumph of indie ingenuity—a puzzle-box of dizzying complexity that rewards patience with moments of pure synaptic euphoria.

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Development History & Context

Studio & Vision:
Born from the solo vision of David Johnston, Gateways emerged as the follow-up to his well-received The Adventures of Shuggy (2011). Johnston’s ambition was audacious: fuse Valve’s Portal with Nintendo’s Metroidvania design, all within the constraints of a micro-studio budget. The game won Microsoft’s Dream Build Play 2012 contest—a testament to its potential—and secured a spot in Game Informer’s Top 50 games of 2012. Yet Smudged Cat Games remained an underdog, operating in an era where indie breakouts like Braid and Fez dominated discourse.

Technological Constraints & Era:
Built in XNA Framework (a toolkit synonymous with Xbox Live Indie Games), Gateways embraced retro pixel art not as nostalgia bait but as pragmatic design. The game’s sprawling, interconnected lab was a technical feat—rendering teleportation, time loops, and gravity shifts seamlessly without loading screens. The modest scope allowed Johnston to focus on mechanical density over visual polish—a trade-off that defined its reception.

Gaming Landscape:
Released amidst a renaissance of indie puzzle-platformers (2012 also saw Fez, Thomas Was Alone), Gateways faced stiff competition. Its Portal-esque premise risked accusations of derivativeness, but Johnston’s twist—layering portal mechanics with Metroidvania progression—distinguished it. It launched on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Xbox 360, yet struggled commercially, buried beneath AAA titans like Borderlands 2 and Mass Effect 3.

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Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

Plot & Characters:
You play as Ed, a disheveled scientist whose lab is overrun by robotic monkeys—a premise dripping with B-movie charm. The narrative is minimalistic, conveyed through environmental snippets and Ed’s wry, fourth-wall-leaning monologues (e.g., “Note to self: Stop creating things that want to kill me”). There’s no GLaDOS-like antagonist; the drama resides in Ed’s isolation and escalating puzzle madness.

Dialogue & Themes:
Themes of obsession and ingenuity permeate. Ed’s lab—a maze of locked doors and cryptic machinery—becomes a metaphor for creative blocks and scientific curiosity. The gateways symbolize problem-solving itself: each tool (shrinking, time travel, gravity inversion) forces players to recontextualize their environment, mirroring Ed’s journey to reclaim control. Unlike Portal’s dystopian satire, Gateways opts for warmth, with Ed’s endearing grumbles (“Why did I build this again?”) grounding the absurdity.

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Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

Core Loop & Innovations:
At its heart, Gateways is a Metroidvania—a single, sprawling map begging to be unlocked via four gateway guns:
1. Spatial Gateways: Basic portals akin to Portal, but side-scrolling.
2. Resizing Gateways: Shrink/grow Ed to navigate tunnels or bypass enemies.
3. Time Gateways: Send past Ed-clones to trigger switches—ingenious yet punishing (touch a clone = paradox reset).
4. Gravity Gateways: Flip orientation to walk on ceilings/walls.

Puzzle Design:
The game shines in multi-layered conundrums demanding tool synergy. For instance:
– Use time gates to leave clones on buttons, then shrink to slip through newly opened passages.
– Invert gravity, launch through spatial gates, and grow mid-air to crush enemies.

Flaws & Frictions:
– Time-Clone Clunk: Later puzzles suffer from cramped spaces, making clone avoidance frustrating (PC Gamer: “Platforming doesn’t feel deftly defined”).
– Backtracking Bottlenecks: Revisiting areas often requires re-solving tedious challenges (Edge: “Minor annoyance”).
– Combat: Robotic monkeys are simplistic obstacles—jump on heads, repeat.

Help System:
A stroke of genius. Collectible “power orbs” let players:
– Check if a puzzle is solvable with current tools.
– Buy solutions outright—a compassionate nod to accessibility.

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World-Building, Art & Sound

Setting & Atmosphere:
Ed’s lab evokes vintage sci-fi: flickering terminals, rusted pipes, and eerie, abandoned corridors. The interconnected map—a single screen without loads—amplifies immersion, evoking Super Metroid’s claustrophobic grandeur. Yet the pixel art splits critics; some praise its retro sincerity (DigitallyDownloaded: “Charming”), others lambaste it as “fugly” (PC Gamer).

Sound Design:
Anthony Morgan’s synth-heavy soundtrack oscillates between melancholic ambience and frantic chiptunes—a fitting backdrop to cerebral chaos. Sound effects are functional but unmemorable, barring the satisfying thwip of portals opening.

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Reception & Legacy

Launch Reception:
Critics were divided:
– Praise: Edge (8/10) lauded its “unusually warm charm” and mechanical depth.
– Critique: Eurogamer (7/10) found it “a tiny tragedy” in execution, citing repetitive navigation.
Metacritic settled at 72, while Steam users rated it “Very Positive” (90% of 249 reviews).

Evolution & Influence:
Post-launch, Gateways garnered a niche following. Its DNA echoes in later indies like A Hole New World (size-shifting) and Temporal Shift (time puzzles). Though not a commercial blockbuster, it became a case study in indie ambition—proving a solo developer could stretch a simple premise into a kaleidoscope of mechanics.

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Conclusion

Gateways is a paradox—a game of dazzling innovation shackled by budgetary and design growing pains. Its puzzles are Portal-caliber cerebral delights, yet clunky platforming and drab aesthetics hold it back from classic status. For puzzle purists, it remains a must-play—a masterclass in layering mechanics with Metroidvania grandeur. For all its flaws, Gateways stands as a testament to indie resilience: a reminder that the most compelling worlds are often built not with AAA gloss, but with obsession, a gateway gun, and a scientist muttering to himself in the dark.

Final Verdict:
A flawed gem—7/10 for casual players, 9/10 for puzzle savants. In the annals of game history, Gateways is less a landmark than a curious footnote—one that whispers: “What if?” louder than most.