When it comes to inspiration for the game’s puzzles Kellner does credit Jonathan Blow, Fumito Ueda and Majora’s Mask as sources of inspiration. However Kellner explains that inspiration comes from many sources, ‘sometimes it might be a specific mechanic in a game that inspires me, while with others it’s a particular design philosophy or even a visual reference’, he says. ‘Usually, ideas for puzzles and levels will pop up while looking at a painting, a photo, a movie, a building. The video games I’ve played are a solid reference to know how to give everything a better structure, but inspiration comes all over’, Kellner states

Etherborn’s puzzles are played out on small maps whose geometry will change depending on your approach. Sometimes you’ll be walking upside down as if practising for the X games, other times you’ll gracefully jump down to a platform that was initially the side of a rockface; it all depends on what is required to progress. Your character can run and jump and must collect orbs that allow access to other sections of a level. The only minor gripe I had with the gameplay is that camera can become awkward at times. Several times I fell to my death because the camera gave me an awkward or obstructed view. It is worth mentioning that players can manually control the camera by using the right thumbstick of the controller, however you’re frequently wrestling with the automatic camera for control. It’s not a deal breaker by any stretch and given the game is in alpha I expect little kinks like these to be ironed out before the game’s release.

As I finally made my way across the game’s challenging and shifting landscapes I felt a sense of gratification like I had achieved something, and it felt good man. Puzzlers seldom give that feeling these days; the right mix of difficulty is a tough balance to find, but Etherborn seems to have it bang on currently. Despite the challenging nature of the game I never felt it was unfair, and each time I failed I was more compelled to find the right way forward. It’s a recipe for an addictive experience and one that reminded me of Death Squared by Australia’s very own SMG Studio.