Gateways

The indie action-adventure that combines Metroid with Portal, Gateways, is currently—free to keep, in a limited-time Indiegala’s giveaway offer! Grab it while you can, as Gateways normally costs $4.99!

Gateways is an action-adventure platformer with a retro-style aesthetic that blends concepts from the Portal and Metroid series. Players take control of Ed, a scientist who must reclaim his laboratory from a gang of robotic monkeys. The game was developed by the British indie studio Smudged Cat Games and released on September 13, 2012.

Published by Smudged Cat Games itself, Gateways is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Xbox 360. While it has received very positive user reviews on online stores, critics who claim to be “specialized” have given it more mixed receptions.

You can get the game here!

Trailer

Gameplay

Gateways is a 2D side-scrolling adventure/platformer set in the intricate laboratory of Ed, an inventor who must escape after an outbreak of his more “creative” experiments. The player controls Ed as he explores a labyrinth filled with challenges and puzzles. The core mechanic is the use of gateway guns, which allow the creation of portals on walls (similar to Portal), floors, and ceilings. When Ed passes through one portal, he emerges from the other, enabling puzzle-solving based on this mechanic.

In addition to traditional platforming elements, such as jumping on enemies, avoiding spikes, and navigating moving platforms, the game introduces a variety of gateway guns, each with unique effects. Initially, Ed acquires a basic gun that creates two portals of the same size. As he progresses, he finds new guns with different abilities:

• Size-variant gateway gun – Creates two portals of different sizes. Passing through one shrinks Ed to half his size, while the other makes him grow to twice his size.
• Time-travel gateway gun – Allows Ed to create a portal that connects not only to another location but also to another point in time. By passing through it, he can travel to the past and encounter earlier versions of himself.
• Gravity-manipulating gateway gun – The final gun in the game alters gravity, allowing Ed to walk on walls and ceilings after passing through the portals.

The game takes place in a single, expansive map filled with puzzles and challenges, following a Metroidvania-style progression. As new weapons and power-ups are acquired, more areas of the map become accessible, revealing additional secrets and obstacles. Besides the gateway guns, Ed also finds useful items such as a torch to illuminate dark areas and a mirror that can be used to deflect lasers.

Gateways features a sophisticated hint system, with help points located near puzzles. At these points, players can spend power orbs to check if a puzzle can be solved with their current abilities. If they remain stuck, spending additional orbs will provide the complete solution.

About the game

From the creative mind behind The Adventures of Shuggy comes an exciting new retro-styled 2D platformer, a winner of Dream Build Play 2012 and a top 50 game of 2012 according to Game Informer.

Grab the gateway guns and explore a huge lab filled with mysterious puzzles in this classic platforming adventure. Use gateway technology to leap from one place to another, change size to explore small passages or defeat large enemies, walk on walls and ceilings to reach new areas and even travel in time to work together with past echoes of yourself.

Move seamlessly between different areas of the vast labyrinthian map with no waiting for loading screens as you explore and discover new power ups. Use each of your new abilities to progress further, unlock shortcuts and find even more power ups. Can you escape?

Features

• Travel across a room instantly using gateways.
• Change size using the resizing gateway gun.
• Interact with your past echoes using the time travel gateway gun.
• Walk on walls and ceilings using the rotation gateway gun.
• Sprawling open-world design.
• Use Gateway’s sophisticated help system to discover if you can solve a puzzle and even watch the solution played out in front of you.

Screenshots

More info and platform

• Gateways @ Smudged Cat Games – The game on the developer’s official website, with more information and media and links to other platforms.
• Gateways @ Indie DB – With more information, media, comments, etc.
• Gateways @ Steam – Store’s listing.
• Gateways @ GOG – Store’s listing.
• Gateways @ Gaming Room – Source, with more info and media. In Portuguese.
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