Puzzle Parkour

Introduction:

Parkour through the clouds in Welkin Road, a challenging free runner game made by Slovenian game designer Gregor Panic. True parkour games are diamonds in the rough, and Welkin Road shines like dinosaur opal. Players will have to jump, swing, and wall-run to victory through 11 cleverly designed courses. Keyboard and mouse underhand, my virtual laces were tied and ready to go out on a limb. It didn’t take long to realize just how fun stepping over the edge can be.

Me literally on a limb

Gameplay:

Warning fun ahead!

Welkin Road tests a player’s keyboard skills with a virtual obstacle course that would fit right at home in TV’s Ultimate Ninja Challenge. The goal is simple: reach the end of the course. Pulling this off, not so simple. I had a hard time becoming familiar with controls, some more than others. Basic movements are performed by classic AWSD keyboard controls with shift acting as a sprint/wallrun button once held down, no problems there.

On the other hand, once held the control key acts as a crouch button; some problems here. Why would I fail after a perfectly timed jpump over a gap? As I played through the first stage a “F1” prompt would periodically pop up in the left hand corner of the screen. Eager to start my parkour trek, I ignored the “F1” indicator. It took four or face hard face plants before I finally pushed it. Certain jumps required me to hit the CTRL key at the very end of the jump in order to land safely. Crouching seemed awkward to me at first, but once applied to real life parkour principles, things become clear. Parkour runners almost always bend or crouch at the end of a maneuver to continue momentum for the next stunt. Though crouching doesn’t necessarily make your rebound quicker or your movements more fluid, it was nice to see an attempt at realism.

An orbs appearance dictates its function.

Other controls are not so realistic. Running and jumping may seem like basic commands for a video game, but Welkin Road has an ace up it’s sleeve: the energy lasso. Each of the player’s arms are banded with energy lassos. Each lasso is controlled by their corresponding left and right mouse buttons, and once tethered to floating orbs, like the one pictured above, you’ll be swinging like Tarzan. Most floating orbs allow the player to attach and hang as long as they want, allowing for corrections in swing speed or direction. Others pose a greater challenge: timed limited orbs, slingshot orbs, orbs that turn platforms, and much more.

I hands down had the most difficulty with the controls to lengthen and shorten the beams while tethered. Players have to awkwardly lengthen the right lasso with the “Y” key and shorten it with “Q”, while also using “E” and “C” to lengthen and shorten the left lasso. This often resulted in a jumble of wrong hit keys and repeated attempts. Controls can be customized to fit your play style, but after a while I felt myself wanting to use a controller. Until you are well-versed in control, I recommend tackling levels at a leisurely pace. There is plenty of time to practice smooth transitions and short cuts in the “Speed Run” game mode, so for now scan the horizon for the exit point and leap into action.

Whew, finally.

Design:

Welkin Road consists of 11 parkour stages, with each offering Exploration or Speedrun mode options. As you progress stages become increasing more difficult, and usually introduces a new obstacle or mechanic. One stage may have you navigate through a swarm of orbs that allowing you to stay connected as long as you want:

Areas like this have many paths of completion

But on the next stage, a similar swarm of orbs may only allow the player to connect for a limited time:

The variety of challenges presented in Welkin Road is astonishing and often invites creativity. Sometimes the most obvious path is not quickest or shortest, so try multiple approaches to stretches of course. Through exploration players can also find secrets in the form of shining balls of light. These are hidden very well. I didn’t notice many of them until I had passed the opportunity to grab them, but never fear, these secrets are tallied and displayed at the level select screen to taunt completionists.

Displayed along with the secrets tally are: course completion time, runner KPH (kilometers per hour), course score (in #), and course rank (in letter). With my average course rank of “C” it became clear to me I had a lot of room for improvement, but honestly completing a new course can take a long time. You can easily sit for over 30 minutes trying to conquer a course, with many minutes of said time focused on a few super difficult sections. I will say most levels are fun to complete, but a few I’m reluctant to return to. One stage in particular drives me crazy:

Beware of the pink!

The pink floor may look may inviting, but it’s a dirty trick. Once stepped on, the pink floor acts like strange fly paper; quick movements and direction changes are limited along with a loss of speed. A weird sound similar to a skateboard rolling over concrete can also be heard, adding to the frustration. Players are rewarded later on in the stage with an awesome ramp section of pink that tasks a player with quick tethering, and creates the feeling of snowboarding down hill:

Presentation:

Dropping out of the sky onto giant floating platforms amongst the clouds, I felt as if I was in a free runner’s dream while playing Welkin Road. Dancing rays of sunlight and the sounds a racing wind piece together a tranquil atmosphere, but there isn’t much to gawk at. I wish there was more variety in the landscapes. The beauty of the clouds can soon be forgotten during a player’s trial and error efforts.

Welkin Road offers a rainbow of challenges

I did enjoy Welkin Road’s vibrant color palette. Above is a screenshot of the speedrun menu, and as you can see each level is represented by a different color. Walls and floors alike are painted with these gorgeous colors. Even the ebony walls of level 07 seem to shine like black pearls, and is wonderful change of eye candy.

Must…. wall run… just a little more.

Conclusion:

You can double hook orbs and go for a playground swing approach.

Many games classify themselves as platformers,but few truly embrace the principle. Players are often restricted to 2D jumpers like Mario or over the shoulder parkour like Assassin’s Creed. Welkin Road aims at first person immersion, and delivers an experience like Mirror’s Edge with Bionic Commando arms. There may not be a storyline or great variety in landscapes, but Welkin Road delivers a unique experience. Just be ready for a challenge; completing speedruns, collecting secrets, and besting your own times will make you sweat, or possibly throw the keyboard.

Thank you for reading. Nolan — Totaltoad

Welkin Road gets a 8/10 (Very Good)

Thank you to Zack Hage and Gregor Panic for supplying me with the code and giving me this chance to share my opinion with everyone. Check out my random video game videos on YouTube.

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