Doors: Paradox Review (IFIYGD)
Recommended with caveats...
If you like casual puzzle games, you *may* like this one.
None of the puzzles are terribly difficult.
Some are merely tedious.
Some require *almost perfect* timing and precise aim.
A few are just annoying.
If you are looking for a complex puzzle game that requires lots of thought and logical thinking skills, this may not be the one for you.
The game runs beautifully, no hitching, no crashes. no fps spiking.
Not many settings to adjust to tweak the game to run, though.
Top res is 2560 x 1440. All seem to be 16:9 aspect ratio resolutions.
You may be able to use custom launch parameters to adjust this if needed for your monitior (no guarantee- I only have 16:9 monitors on my machines).
*********************
Accessibility:
The game uses no spoken text, no audio clues. Just sound effects for some actions, and background music.
Would be playable for Deaf and HoH gamers.
Playable with one hand- mouse only.
No controller compatibility found though, so I cannot say if the game will work with a custom Accessibility Controller set-up.
Some of the color combinations used could make this game unplayable for people with certain forms of color-blindness. Lots of red/green. pink/red, orange/teal-green, and blue/green used in the art and puzzles. *I cannot say if playing using color-blindness system settings on your machine will work or not- I honestly did not test it.)
*Most* text is large and bold enough to read easily- for me. There are no text scaling settings in the game.
Some of the art, items you need to find, and puzzles themselves use small scale imagery, or may be faded our behind blurring or other effects.
Could be problematic for people with certain vision conditions or low-vision.
I also did not test with a screen reader- so I cannot say if the game will work with the most common ones available, paid or free.
I have arthritis and slow reflexes, and did manage to complete the puzzles that required timing and good aiming, but some did take several tries.
Some of the puzzles were trial-and-error, and others just made no sense (the story goes all over the place too)- may be problematic for some folks with neuro-divergent conditions.Some things just don't make sense in the game.
Hints and "skip puzzle" are freely available, no need to earn points to use them, no apparent cooldown. So if a puzzle has you stumped- you can feel free to use either one as much as you like without penalty (helpful if a child is playing too).
********************
The game does delve into some dark places, including nuclear disasters, war, satanism/paganism, and a general "humanity has screwed itself over" theme. No blood or gore, no violence against anything besides inanimate objects. Some political undertones, that are open to interpretation by the player.
*Should* be fine for younger children with parental supervision and assistance (you are likely to get asked to explain a bunch of stuff that may not be easy to explain). Teens should have no issues with any of it- if they use any social media, they have likely already encountered the subject matter and have a basic understanding of old events being referenced.
The art is lovely.
The music is fine, though I did need to turn the volume down- for the music and some of the sound effects for some actions (explosions and breaking things, for instance).
I have seen some people saying the achievements are bugged because they cannot unlock the last two (finding all scrolls and gems and unlocking all other achievements). Pro Tip- they work just fine, but the 2 final scenarios at the end of each chapter have scrolls that are well hidden or do not appear until you are part-way through. I had two of those final scenarios where I had not found the scroll, and had to replay those levels to find them. Once I did, the final 2 achievements popped.
Level selection is nice- you can replay any level you like or need to find a gem or scroll in, and once found, you can stop playing that level and it will update on the level select menu. No need to completely replay a level doe to missing a gem or scroll.
It was okay. Not as much of a "brain power needed" challenging puzzler as I had hoped for, but fine for passing time., Levels are quick- 5-15 minutes for most.
I got the game in a deeply discounted bundle- I do not think I would be happy if I had paid full price.
Grab at a discount if you are new to puzzlers, or to play with a younger child (with your help).
But if you are looking for something complex, with challenging puzzles- avoid.
(quick edit made to correct a few typos(