Gecko Gods Preview | The World’s Coolest Lizard
Gecko Gods, by the development team at Inresin, is an eye-catching puzzle-adventure game where you explore the world as a gecko. Immediately, I was enamored by the beauty of the world and the utterly adorable gecko. Little did I know that the aesthetic of the game would just be scratching the surface at how captivating this demo would be.
As I began my demo, I noticed right away how adorable and detailed the movements of the gecko I was controlling are in the game. Its leg movements have a fantastic pitter-patter to them that I, for some reason, fixated on. Even when the gecko is in the water swimming, the movement of the creature seems so fluid and flawless, that I can imagine a real gecko mimicking these actions. The gecko can even traverse on walls, scurry upside down, and even dash across the air, offering little limitations to where it can go. I did find the camera can be caught in various spots as I maneuvered through the demo, but nothing too problematic to diminish the utter joy I had while exploring.
With the movement in mind, I was also absolutely enthralled by the beauty of the game. In a stunning cell-shaded appeal of the visuals is an interesting mix between Sable and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The low-stakes vibes, mixed with the atmospheric sense of adventure, was wonderfully captured in this one hour demo.
In addition to the great sense of movement within Gecko Gods, I was also really impressed with the premise of the game. For *reasons*, you are charged to wake up the Gecko God and help uncover the mysteries of an ancient civilization. Though the main story was left ambiguous for now, I was more intrigued by the layering of the puzzles within the introductory island. I was challenged to follow environmental clues, engage in light combat, and quickly platform my way towards various objectives. At first, I was a little turned around by the entire island, but once I got my bearings within a few minutes, I felt much more comfortable completing all the tasks presented before me. None of the puzzles or objectives ever felt too obtuse or too simple, but rather an impeccable bite-sized chunk of what I could see in the full game. I even found a few collectables within the island, hinting at more secrets waiting to be uncovered.
The demo closes out once your gecko finds a small boat with a sail (VERY Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, so much so that I had to do a double take). This closing moment immediately had me raising my hands and thinking “ah dang” since I wanted to play more of this game. Though the demo last about an hour for me, the time melted away. I am very excited to check out the full game once it is released.
In the meantime, be sure to Wishlist Gecko Gods on Steam so you can stay in the loop on all the developments for the game.