But in Antichamber this response is only one of many that will take me somewhere new. When I see an instruction floating in the air that says “Jump?” and a pit, my instinct is to try and jump it. Years of playing games have taught me to go forward to progress, for instance, but with environments that constantly transform behind you, you often need to turn around and head “back” to go forward.

Every time I thought I would misstep, or miss a jump, the designers behind Antichamber seemed to predict my mistakes and turn them into teaching opportunities. The drive to keep going is important, because Antichamber teaches you that trying something new is the best way to learn. They, alongside implementation of color, push you to overcome what’s ahead, because they signal something new, and you never know what to expect next. Even when they’re not particularly useful for gameplay, they still come across as sincere and endearing.

They occasionally give a crucial hint for a nearby puzzle, but they’re equally likely to present cute bits of advice such as living by your own time, not someone else’s. Then there’s the host of pictures scattered throughout Antichamber’s rooms. Many of Antichamber’s puzzles use of color in an otherwise black and white world helps point you in the right direction or signal the start of something new. Sparingly-used visual cues help push you to explore. In short: you learn almost immediately to doubt what you see on the surface, and to try options beyond the obvious.

It makes every moment unpredictable and every step forward exciting, since that might just be the key to unlocking another puzzle. Walkways and staircases might appear out of thin air right beneath your feet. Or you might get up close to look at something then pull away from it and find that nothing is as you left it. For instance you might wander down a hallway and turn around after you hit a doorway to find that everything behind you has changed. Antichamber takes advantage of this, screwing with your surroundings in unexpected ways. You play entirely in first-person, and thus have a relatively limited field-of-view. Play Antichamber doesn’t waste time before presenting you with mind-boggling puzzles.

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