RELAY is a free browser game by Yahia Zakaria, Sameh Khater, and Yassin Zakaria. You control a robot trapped in a series of two-dimensional levels filled with electronic gates, hatches, moving platforms and mirrored surfaces. The bot skittles about and jumps short distances, but you won't get far. Escape is only possible by aiming a laserbeam, which triggers mechanical elements or transfers control to other 'bots in unreachable places—so long as you have a line-of-sight. The game thereby poses an increasingly elaborate series of logical challenges as you switch between robots, hook up the circuits that power each level's portals and pitfalls, and hammer the self-destruct button when traps are sprung and completion becomes impossible.
Relay's slightly sadistic gameplay is well-suited to its antiseptic corporate vibe, a setting skilfully established but offering no narrative to speak of. The visuals pose glitchy, filtered pixel art at retina-display resolution, an exemplary touch being when doors and platforms become stuck at odd angles around the player's bot. Both brains and physical precision are required to progress far, and at least one of the twenty levels calls for twitchy clickwork that'll frustrate casuals. Getting the knack of leaving your beam on a particular spot while moving is a key skill: master it before you need it, as puzzles requiring this trick aren't exactly obvious.
RELAY [itch.io]
