You can image how Point Perfect might have been conceived.
Sat staring at a computer monitor with nothing to play, or waiting for something to happen. You gaze idly at the mouse cursor as you move it around the screen. Perhaps you click on a few things or drag big rectangles, and then inspiration hits – “What if this was a game?”
And so the unique feature of Point Perfect springs into life. The spaceship of most shooters is replaced with your mouse cursor. Rather than passing above objects, the pointer becomes a physical object inhabiting the same space as obstacles and enemies, leading to collisions with both.
This leaves you with a sole method of defence. The only way to repel enemies is by selecting them in groups. So as the ships and so on fly in, you’re tasked with surrounding them with ‘bounding boxes’ before they have the chance to do whatever it is they intend to your otherwise unarmed cursor.
It’s a novel and fascinating concept that takes a while to get accustomed to. Even then, you’ll probably still suffer from momentary lapses in concentration and foolishly plough your ship into something that you were trying to go through instead of around. Having this cognitive dissonance as part of the central game mechanic is what makes Pitch Perfect so stressful as well as exciting.
Point Perfect is a game produced for a specific controller. You could say that it’s similar to the stylus control experimentation behind early Nintendo DS titles. It definitely works, as long as you have adequate mouse and motor skills. You might even find you improve your mouse handling on the route to point-y perfection.
It won’t be easy though.
Even when not taking my own stupidity into account, Point Perfect is very difficult. However, that difficulty doesn’t come from unfairness.
The gameplay is quite logical and consistent, without relying on cheap tricks. With procedurally-generated enemies following different flight paths, it means you can’t rely on the memorisation that guides you through most shoot’em ups. Only boss battles tend to stick to certain patterns. That unpredictability means you’re in a constant state of reaction, rather than being able to prepare for the next offensive. It does keep the game fresh, yet also maintains its challenge.
If Point Perfect has a flaw, it’s due to the nature of the game and control method dictating a lack of variety common to many shooters. But the large roster of bosses and a couple of secret stages offer enough change to keep the game compelling, and there’s enough overall to keep you motivated to come back to what is essentially a score attack game. Still, you probably won’t see most of it. You’ll be dead, mocked by the game for your lack of skill!
The game is graphically presented in a pixellated retro style that is slightly more complex than true 8-bit graphics. And it’s complimented by ’80s chip-tune style music which unfortunately gets fairly repetitive. The tunes do evolve a little if you’re good enough to reach past the initial stage of each game, but not enough to avoid becoming overly familiar.
Stylistically, the Point Perfect mostly references internet trolls, on-line PC gaming and some classic ’80s retro games. Er, and some good old weirdness! It’s actually interesting that the game manages to share the spirit of 8-bit classics quite so well too, since the core concept of the game is quite new.
Point Perfect also is a bit basic in terms of guidance and online features. No instructions are included, so you have to figure things out for yours. Some might say that the game is holding true to its ‘old game’ inspirations right there!
But it’s harder to justify the big omission of online high score tables, which would add competition and more of a replay value to the game. And there are no sensitivity options – which means everyone has the same experience but might frustrate some players. The Steam version does achievements and trading cards, which means when there’s a sale, the game could almost pay for itself!
Overall, Point Perfect is definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan of difficult challenges and unique gaming experiences – as long as you don’t mind a game hitting back with some on-screen mockery! It’s overall a stressful, frustrating and also compelling experiment that works rather well. For a certain type of player. Those who aren’t interested in a game style that leads to a gradual improvement of skill or beating high scores won’t find much of interest here.
Not entirely drawn in by this type of game, I’d rate it at 6 out of 10. A more experienced Shoot’Em Up fan or someone prepared to take on the difficulty challenge will probably get more mileage out of the unfortunately solo experience.
Given the history of ‘Point ‘n’ Click’ Adventure games, it certainly deserves some recognition for bringing a new ‘Point ‘n’ Drag ‘n’ Click’ experience to shooters.
Point Perfect is listed at £4.49 on Steam for Windows or Mac.
