Metrico should be lauded for its creativity. Instead of using static blocks and a fantastical setting, this abstract puzzler hinges on scalable, everyday infographics the size and placement of which are beholden to your actions. Few people jump out of their seats to play with pie charts, line graphs, and bar diagrams, but developer Digital Dreams has managed to take the mundane and make it feel otherworldly in its PlayStation Vita debut. There's nothing else like it, but unfortunately, a novel concept and brazen soundtrack aren't enough to overcome a frustrating control scheme and often-empty set of challenges. There are flashes of brilliance born from the dozens of geographic puzzles, but the highs in Metrico aren't high enough to erase the lows.
"Input Morphing" is the term used to describe the adjustments you make to the environment, as different features of the world around you change shape, position, and orientation based on the location and action of your character. Moving left or right on the X-axis may raise or lower a single block on screen that's jamming the exit, while jumping up or down on the Y-axis could shift a longer pillar across the screen. You move from world to world, each of which contains multiple puzzles that increase in difficulty as you progress, with the conclusion of every world giving you the option of leaving through one of two colored doors.
The most consistent facet of Metrico is its presentation, which beautifully blends its colorful edges with a soothing synthetic soundtrack. The particular visual style of each world is wonderfully complemented by its corresponding music, with each action resulting in a distinct auditory ripple. Sounds erupt and shapes appear as you scale new obstacles, but the most notable feat is that Metrico manages to remain aesthetically stimulating from start to finish. The many shades of purple, blue, and red you encounter wouldn't be nearly as striking without the accompanying melodies that fit like a glove.
Metrico looks and sounds the part of a critical darling, but laborious controls and empty narrative agency mar this chromatic trip. The many mechanics introduced from world to world often enrich the multiple puzzles you encounter, and the joy that comes from cracking the game's most complex codes is sublime. However, the erratic sensitivity of the Vita's motion control and overly indistinct theme hold Metrico back from being more than a fleeting curiosity.
From the review, "Sweet Lily Dreams is not a title for a game that would immediately grab [April Marie] and make me want to play it. It sounds very much like a childs game a fluffy piece that would be a fun time-waster. Well, it doesnt take long to realize that Sweet Lily Dreams is just not that kind of game. RosePortal Games seems to follow the philosophy that games should be fun, but they should also serve a purpose. The founder has said that games should have a moral and artistic merit. Given my experience with Sweet Lily Dreams, RosePortal Games does just that."
Julie Morley writes: "Have you ever looked at a painting by Salvador Dali and wondered what it would be like to exist in that surrealistic world? Why are these clocks melting? This dreamy place looks so comforting and chaotic simultaneously that the emotional conflict causes your head to burst? Surrealistic art has inspired a great deal of thought about our dreams, the world around us, and why a woman's body resembles a cello according to Man Ray."
