I didn't really know what to expect when I started playing Krystian Majewski's Trauma. What I found was a unique blend of point-and-click adventure puzzles and narration by "a young woman who survives a car accident".
After watching the opening cutscene I was presented with four vignettes, or "dreams". Each dream begins by stating what your objective is. For example "this is the dream where I am chasing a ghost" would hint that maybe you should be following the ghostly trail.
The interface is easy to navigate and the environment assembles itself like a bunch of photographs. When you hover your mouse over an area that you can move to you see a ghostly outline of where the next image will be.
Each dream introduces a specific mechanic, like using drains to slurp up whatever obstacle is in your way or lifting giant seeds(?). Reusing these mechanics I sometimes found myself finishing one of the four vignettes right as I started it so I went back and tried to find another way to finish it.
There seems to be one "right" way to finish each dream that will reward you with a short cutscene of the narrator conscious in the hospital and talking to her doctor.
Trauma does not challenge your skills as a puzzle solver and instead takes you on a journey. The puzzles are simple and straightforward. The real beauty in Trauma is the way it blends gameplay and narrative to create this industry's equivalent of an interactive poem. There is a real sense of discovery when you return to earlier vignettes and realize that mechanics you learned in later levels still apply there.
Majewski has created a work of art and I look forward to seeing what she contributes to this medium in the future.
-E
Also, don't forget to check out the official website and remember the game will be available for purchase on Steam later today!
