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After the extreme success of Portal and its sequel, Portal 2, Game developer Kim Swift has turned her attention to another puzzle game set to release early 2012, Quantum Conundrum. The only conundrum that comes to mind when thinking of this game is: how do you make another puzzle game that not only is completely different than portal but also has a totally different feel to it?



In this adventure the hero is a quiet 12-year-old boy, nephew of the mad scientist Professor Fitz Quadwrangle. As he arrives to visit with his dear uncle at his lavish mansion/laboratory, one of the Professor's experiments goes wrong and an explosion ensues. The boy discovers his uncle is now missing in another dimension and uses a dimension changing glove to go and search for his dear uncle.

A completely different setting and story line is a good start when trying to distance yourself from such a power house franchise as Portal, but if anything the demo shows the gaming community that there is a world of difference in the aesthetic and feel of Quantum Conundrum. The visual is more cartoon style and is reminiscent of Team Fortress 2. Bubbly and very vibrant colors differ from Portal's dark, sterile, ominous. The way you accomplish tasks take on a whole new feeling as well. Objects such as safes become much more than just a heavy paper weight to put on random buttons that are much too far away. They become bridges, weapons, and a way of travel. Safe surfing can be described as a happy little accident that the developer decided was too cool to not include in the game, and she was right.

Only time will tell if this title will step out of its predecessor's shadow and make a name for itself or quietly make too small of a splash in the gaming community to even be noticed by the population as a whole.