Developer: Eleven Puzzles
Platforms: iOS, Android, PC (Reviewed)
Genre: Adventure
Publisher: Eleven Puzzles
Parallel Experiment is a cooperative puzzle game developed and published by Eleven Puzzles. The developers previously came out with games such as Unsolved Cases and Unboxing the Cryptic Killer. This review was for the PC version, but the game is also available on iOS and Android, with future releases on Nintendo Switch.
Parallel Experiment follows the story of two detectives, Ally Abernathy and ‘Old Dog’ Kowalski, who are on the case to find the real cryptic killer. A dark turn takes place during their investigation, where the two are captured and forced to play through the killer’s Parallel Experiment. The investigation revolves around a scientific experiment with supernatural hints that connect the conflicts between two sons and their parents. It is up to Ally and Old Dog to solve the mystery whilst escaping all sorts of deadly traps and puzzles.
Parallel Experiment is a 2-player cooperative game where you and your duo can play online, with the compatibility of cross-platform. Now, we have tested the game through Steam, and it is important to note that each player does require a copy of the game (with the price of Parallel Experiment, it is 100% worth experiencing the game). In terms of the game connectivity, we had a pretty good connection without any delays or disturbances in the gameplay, even though one player was based in Europe and the other in Asia. To some extent, connection issues lie with the internet, and there did not seem to be any issue present with the server. Controls were self-explanatory, with most of them being click-and-point; however, there were some instances in the game where the visual style would change, which was quite nice and very easy to follow.
Parallel Experiment tells its story through comic-book-style panels, which are engraved with noir-like features, expressive tones, dramatic lighting and sketched elements that bring out the beauty in the hand-drawn comic strips and environment. The comic-book visuals of Parallel Experiment are perfect with its narrative and gameplay. You get dialogue between characters shown on speech bubbles with emphasis on certain designs that add even more tone and personality to the characters. I quite liked how realistic the characters looked, and their voice acting really sold the game. Each character, especially the detectives and the supposed ‘killers’, had distinct voices. For instance, Old Dog seemed like quite a chill but easily annoyed man, whereas Ally was more assertive and professional. The accents themselves were perfect, making each character even more memorable. Parallel Experiment did a wonderful job at creating an environment that was atmospheric but also designed in a way to cleverly place puzzles.
Parallel Experiment was quite the experience and one filled with lots of puzzle-solving and one exciting story. Originally, my friend and I played the Unsolved Case previously and were always interested in looking into another game by the same developers. You see, we thoroughly enjoyed puzzle and escape room games, and when we had initially played Unsolved Case the game ropes you in with the creative and mind-blowing puzzles you need to solve. After we heard a new game was coming out, this was an opportunity we did not want to miss out on. Now, we haven’t played Unboxing the Cryptic Killer, where Parallel Experiment seems to follow the narrative from the previous game, but even without having played it, you still get grasped and don’t seem to miss out on much of the story. I mean, in Parallel Experiment, the story delves deeper and one that was truly enjoyable. There are so many moments in the game that we absolutely enjoyed and were instantly roped in from the beginning. I think the inclusion to annoy your partner was so random but needed, as I would always find myself poking Old Dog whilst he was solving a puzzle.
First, the puzzles the developers do such a wonderful job at creating puzzles that get you to think outside of the box. Some seem a lot more straightforward than others, whereas some take more time than you would expect. The game does not test your limit but makes it so that you enjoy the puzzles you are solving. Each player sees a different ‘end’ of the puzzle, and you work together with effective and clear communication to work through them. There are all sorts of puzzles for you to solve, and no puzzle will ever be the same. You could do anything from describing abstract symbols to the other player, redirecting the flow of water, or fixing errors that prompt up on a communication device. What makes these puzzles shine is not just their mechanical complexity but their narrative integration. Each puzzle belongs to the world. You will never truly feel the want to give up, and once you think you’ve gotten into the groove of the game, it will hit you with something you wouldn’t expect, which makes Parallel Experiment so exciting. Some puzzles also had a different visual design, which was so interesting to encounter. Throughout the game, you never really need to refer to online resources, and the ability to draw directly onto the game screen makes it so nice to keep track of things.
I do not have any complaints with the puzzles whatsoever because I always found myself amazed at how the developers came up with such intriguing concepts, but there was one that completely screwed us over. Thankfully, reaching out to the developers was so much help as they kindly illustrated a detailed explanation of the specific puzzle. Near the end of the game, players needed to switch some levers, and there was some confusion between the paths and lever sets by the game’s design, but we were extremely glad for the help to have been able to complete the game.
Besides fascinating puzzle solving, you get to interact with characters and have the option to choose dialogues. Between the detectives, you each have dialogue options that you can choose from, each having slightly different questions and tones, which make us feel like true detectives. This mechanic made it so that we felt more immersed in the narrative and created interrogation sequences, which were really fun. The collaborative problem-solving and interaction make both players feel essential. There was hardly ever a moment where one player was ‘carrying’ the other.
The narrative is exciting, the puzzle-solving is thrilling, and the interactions are informative; you even get the chance to take a little break at Old Dog’s Den and play some slot machines. Slot machines were a nice way to break up the puzzle-solving flow of the game and focus on different puzzles and games that you could casually enjoy. But because we thrive for the 100% completionist route, those puzzles made us feel even more competitive. Plus, after you complete the full game, you go into investigation mode, which gives players the chance to fully complete the game. We had decided to switch our roles and play certain sequences again to find secret tokens and complete any missing achievements. It took us a lot longer than expected to complete the game, but we enjoyed every step of it!
Parallel Experiment is a perfect game for puzzle-solving buddies or even if you wish to play a game with an escape room feel. However, there was a slight downside, and that was the number of bugs we had encountered. For instance, in the 3-in-a-row, if it was Ally’s turn, Old Dog would be holding onto a chip when Ally needed to interact with the board. Another bug we faced was the Match-3 slot game, where after matching a few of the gems, some would stack on top of one another and stay frozen, or a diamond would be floating in a grid without falling down. There were instances in the game where we just had to restart the lobby as one player could not interact with a lever, but besides those unfortunate bugs, everything else in the game was so much fun. I can say for sure that Vroggo and myself are looking forward to Eleven Puzzles’ next game!
The code that we were given to punch into the workshop computer was a perfect little easter egg, adding Comicbuzz as a target labelled as a failed subject as we “read too many comic books” and “is sharp and clever, thus dangerous”, this easter egg is as flattering as it is funny. We are also very thankful to have been provided with codes by Eleven Puzzles to play this game, and Vroggo had the following to say, “My friend and I had a blast playing Parallel Experiments together; it was so much fun. The game had a story to tell, and players had to go through puzzles to experience and progress through it. There were twists I never would have speculated, which can potentially leave room for the game to continue its series.
As for the art style, I liked that the game still kept its comic book art style and dialogue speech bubbles like the game’s predecessors. My favourite thing is how the lighting makes the game look so visually appealing. Plus, the sound effects (like the turning of valves, whirring of electricity, etc) and the music really bring the game to life and help add to the mysterious, serious, and retro vibes of the game.
Side note: Players are in for a treat once they have unlocked the jukebox. The music discs there were such bangers.
The main highlight of the game was the puzzles, of course. They weren’t so hard that it’d seem impossible to solve them. However, there are two basic tips I’d recommend players follow as they’re playing through the game is that 1) if you’re ever stuck in a puzzle, try thinking outside the box or playing around with different solutions until you reach the right one, and 2) really pay close attention to detail because there are certain puzzles that require astute observations that may be missed when observing things at face value. Of course, good communication and teamwork should be a given since it is a co-op game. I can tell how much thought went into making these complex puzzles because they really made my brain cells sweat (I’m looking at your gargoyle minigame). The game did show one minor visual bug. The candy crush-like arcade game at the Dog’s Den was showing some overlapping of icons when the icons would fall down after completing a three-in-a-row/column of icons. Although, restarting the level would usually clear the issue.
The game is definitely worth every single worth of its penny, and I’d recommend this game to anyone looking to chill and solve puzzles together with another friend.”
Parallel Experiment is a thrilling co-op adventure that turns puzzle-solving into a full-blown detective mission. With its clever gameplayer, mood comic-book aesthetic, and story-driven challenges, it’s the perfect game to grab a friend and dive into together. Whether you’re decoding cryptic clues, escaping twisted traps or uncovering dark secrets, every step feels like you are part of a mind-being investigation. Sync up your communication, test your team working abilities and be sure to experience the uniqueness of Parallel Experiment!
Overall: 9/10
This is S & S. We are world game explorers. We play games. We have played over 10,000+ games! We travel, we write reviews AND we play more games!!!!
