Review: Silt is a short, disturbing trip that leaves an impression

videogameschronicle.com:

When you begin Silt you’ll instantly be drawn to the game’s incredible art style. Each area looks like the hand-drawn etchings of a 19th-century diver, fervently trying to recount the horrors he witnessed beneath the sea.

A monochrome, contemplative horror, Silt is one of the most visually striking puzzle games in recent years. It reminds us of an underwater Limbo, a Swimbo, if you will.

The game begins by telling the player to seek out the eyes of the goliaths that lie deep beneath the ocean, and that there’s a great machine laying in wait for them at the end of their journey.

It’s a suitably creepy set-up to the game, letting the player infer what’s going on rather than spelling it out for them. This works well as the game evokes old horror stories rather than a realistic exploration of under the sea.

Puzzles are often solved by possessing one of the sea creatures and using their ability to bypass an obstacle or collect. This works fairly well, and remembering what each creature does and how they interact is enjoyable, but the possession mechanic itself is often slightly too slow for its own good. The sharp white beam that emerges from the player as this happens looks great, but it’s not the easiest thing to control.

The sea creatures all look brilliant, bringing to mind an old, pre-photography maritime book. It’s also strangely hypnotic to swim about as them. The game is also brilliant at relaying the scale of the monsters you’re facing. Horrific mouths filled with 20ft teeth ready to impale the player.

Underwater levels have been a strong horror troupe in video games for as long as the medium has been able to depict water, and Silt plays on this well. While there’s no chance of drowning to worry about, the glacial speed at