Type:Rider
- November 6, 2013
- ARTE France
- 4h median play time
Get on Steam"Type:Rider" is a single-player platformer game with excellent gameplay, stunning visuals, and a memorable soundtrack. Players control two dots traveling through the history of typography, solving puzzles on famous fonts and styles from prehistoric times to the 2000s. With ten worlds, immersive atmosphere, and fascinating historical archives, "Type:Rider" offers a delightful and very funny experience for players who love unique adventures.
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Reviews
- Beautiful and varied art style and music that enhances the gameplay experience.
- Imaginative and diverse level design that reflects the history of typography.
- Educational value, providing interesting insights into the history of fonts and typography.
- Controls can be awkward and unresponsive, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
- The gameplay can feel simplistic and repetitive, lacking depth in mechanics.
- Some levels, particularly the secret level, are excessively difficult and may deter players.
- gameplay207 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Type:rider is characterized by its simple platforming mechanics and thematic puzzles centered around typography, but it suffers from frustrating controls and inconsistent physics that can detract from the experience. While the game features beautiful visuals and an educational narrative, many players find the gameplay to be tedious and lacking in challenge, with some mechanics feeling poorly implemented. Overall, it appeals more to those interested in its artistic and historical context rather than providing a compelling platforming experience.
“Each level has its own character and fun extra game mechanics.”
“Good visuals, interesting gameplay, awesome sound, good level design.”
“This game feels like a labor of love, with it constantly playing with its own mechanics and stylistic approach.”
“The art is wonderful, the subject is interesting but the gameplay is god-awful.”
“The gameplay is otherwise rather easy - plenty of checkpoints, no life counter, and save for a few places on the last few levels that require twitchy controls, simple-enough puzzles.”
“However, be warned: this game is nothing but jumping puzzles, and the jumping physics/mechanics are absolutely terrible.”
- graphics185 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The graphics of *Type:rider* are widely praised for their beautiful and artistic design, effectively capturing the essence of various typographic eras while creating a calming atmosphere. Players appreciate the unique visual style and how it complements the educational content, although some note issues with gameplay mechanics and typographical accuracy. Overall, the game's visuals are considered a standout feature, making it particularly appealing to graphic designers and those interested in typography.
“The graphics are great and incorporate very nicely with the soundtrack in order to create a calm, surreal, and historical adventure-like atmosphere.”
“Breathtaking visuals, scenery changes, and music come together in a game brimming with inspiration and interesting ways to think about words and letters.”
“This game takes you through typographic history in a way that is creative and visually stunning.”
“Type:rider portrays a bold new idea in stylistic graphic design crippled by nonsense physics and inapt controls.”
“To make a more thorough explanation of this negative review; unresponsive controls, seemingly unresponsive and random physics at times, buggy graphics and in-game models (e.g. an object that is required so as you can roll your dots from point A to point B does not spawn, or has faulty physics makes it impossible to actually get to point B).”
“Interesting as a history lesson, but typographic and grammatical errors as well as some of the absolute worst controls in a platformer ever, bog this game down into a frustrating and ultimately forgettable experience.”
- music138 mentions
- 64 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its ability to create a calming and immersive atmosphere, with many reviewers noting that it complements the visuals and enhances the overall experience. The soundtrack is described as relaxing, fitting for each level, and varied enough to maintain interest without becoming monotonous. Overall, the combination of beautiful music and art contributes significantly to the game's appeal, making it both enjoyable and educational.
“The aesthetic and the music were great throughout, and I learned a good few things on the way.”
“An amazing soundtrack and beautifully crafted levels create a masterful atmosphere that brings each font to life.”
“Each level covers an epoch in written language, and the visuals and music come together gorgeously to convey the feeling of the era.”
“The music feels cheap but still adds to the atmosphere, especially when you turn it low.”
“Cheerful music...starts to irritate after some time, and all this level is totally messed up, up to the point when keyboard meets wall.”
“The only good points are the art and music, but even those aren't good enough to make you think you're having fun.”
- atmosphere42 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 26 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its nostalgic and immersive qualities, enhanced by a beautifully crafted soundtrack and graphics that create a calm, surreal experience. Each level uniquely embodies different typefaces and their historical contexts, making it a must-play for enthusiasts of typography and atmospheric journeys. While the gameplay may not be particularly challenging, the overall design and sound contribute significantly to an engaging and educational adventure.
“The graphics are great and incorporate very nicely with the soundtrack in order to create a calm, surreal, and historical adventure-like atmosphere.”
“An amazing soundtrack and beautifully crafted levels create a masterful atmosphere that brings each font to life.”
“A fantastically atmospheric interactive journey through the history of writing :)”
“This game lives or dies on your interest in typography; if you have even the most minuscule interest to learn more about it, this is an excellent introduction. In any other case, the atmosphere might not save the frustration you’ll have with the controls. Catch it on a really good sale at most.”
“The music feels cheap but still adds to the atmosphere, especially when you turn it low.”
“It's not particularly challenging; however, the graphics, music, and general atmosphere are very well done.”
- story24 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The story in the game is centered around a journey of discovery, where players explore the history of typography and the printing press through atmospheric levels that reflect different eras. While some players appreciate the educational aspects and the moral lessons embedded in the narrative, others feel that the story could have been more developed. Overall, the game offers a unique blend of visual style and cultural insights, making it engaging for those interested in literature and design.
“The game itself seemed pretty interesting, since I happen to like literature and stuff like that, so I bought it, expecting a low-tier casual/typing game to pass some time, but received something kind of different; it's a pretty atmospheric platformer based on typography, teaching you (the player) a bit about the story of the printing press, the different characters used in books, and even about the origins of writing itself.”
“You are a colon: a small punctuation on a journey to discover its past; you are in a story of discovery.”
“Type:rider is a beautiful storyline about the world of fonts.”
“There isn't a story and it's kind of a shame because it would have been nice.”
“What is this story about?”
“Story is ok.”
- humor20 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, featuring a variety of hilarious elements such as an easter egg level and a surprise ending that many found amusing. However, the infamous "comic sans" level received criticism for its frustrating controls and over-the-top meme humor, which some players found off-putting despite its comedic intent. Overall, while the game aims for a lighthearted and trolling atmosphere, the execution can lead to both laughter and frustration.
“There's even a hilarious easter egg level which can be found after the end credits roll.”
“And there's a little surprise at the end of the game which is really funny.”
“The surprise font they go over at the end is super hilarious and rounds out the whole historical progression perfectly.”
- stability16 mentions
- 6 % positive mentions
- 6 % neutral mentions
- 88 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with some players noting it is well-polished for its size, while others report significant issues such as unresponsive controls, buggy physics, and graphical glitches. Frequent respawn points can lead to frustrating gameplay, as they often require players to replay levels if they miss items due to these bugs. Overall, while there are glitches present, they do not seem to completely ruin the experience for most players.
“This game is remarkably well-polished for how small it is - I encountered little to no glitches, except one where my character got stuck on a letter in such a way it couldn't get free.”
“I wonder what will be faster: obtaining all remaining cards or clearing this buggy mess to completion just out of my stubbornness...”
“To make a more thorough explanation of this negative review; unresponsive controls, seemingly unresponsive and random physics at times, buggy graphics and in-game models (e.g. an object that is required so you can roll your dots from point A to point B does not spawn, or has faulty physics that makes it impossible to actually get to point B).”
“Also, as a sort of double-edged sword - the many respawn points serve a purpose, but since the whole point of the game is to collect all letters in every font (a.k.a level), the way-too-frequent respawn points cause you to have to replay a whole level if you accidentally miss a letter due to the above-mentioned buggy physics and controls, because the game rarely allows you to backtrack in a level if you accidentally trigger an invisible respawn point.”
- replayability10 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
Overall, the game offers limited replayability, with most players completing it in about 4 to 8 hours. While there is some incentive to collect hidden letters, the experience is often described as a "museum-experience," lacking depth and variety that would encourage multiple playthroughs. Once achievements are attained, players find little motivation to revisit the game.
“Although the game can be considered short in length, there is replay value when trying to collect all of the letters hidden throughout the levels.”
“It takes about four hours to play through completely, but sadly offers little replayability.”
“Little replayability once having attained all of the achievements.”
“About 6-8 hours of gameplay, and limited replayability.”
- grinding10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while some levels offer enjoyable challenges, others become tedious and frustrating, particularly due to unresponsive controls and repetitive tasks. The final secret level is noted for its punishing memory grinding, which some players appreciate as a fitting conclusion, despite the overall gameplay feeling drawn out by the two-thirds mark.
“Some areas are quite tedious.”
“After a while, the gameplay does get rather tedious; I'd say about 2/3 of the way through I wanted to stop, but I kept going because I wanted to catch up with the history of typography up to the present day.”
“The chaos and randomness of the final secret level is the perfect representation of type in the age of the social web, and the challenge in that level is pure memory grinding, which is a lovely, delightful, punishing way to wrap up the game.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers highlight a scarcity of quality kid-friendly games that avoid violent content, mindless clickers, and in-game purchases, indicating a growing demand for such titles as more gamers start families. The emphasis is on the need for engaging yet appropriately challenging games that do not rely on monetization strategies that detract from the gaming experience.
