As the helpful and speedy tutorial informs you, colored words will appear in the center of the screen. If the color and the word match, tap the right side of the screen, otherwise you tap left.
As you complete this tutorial wherein most of the words are the correct combination, you are then plunged in the trippy, surrealist experience that is the campaign. You are a special, talented child, determined to flick through all the TV channels in the world.
As you click correctly, either left or right as the colored word dictates, you change channels and receive strangely, even sometimes disturbing, noises and sounds. This corresponds with flicking TV lines of static and confusion, giving you the feeling of staring straight at a TV screen and experiencing first hand your eyes bleeding out of their sockets.
OLDTV feels somewhat disturbing, but it’s clear that’s the intended purpose. The gameplay itself is relaxing and relatively simple – after all, you’re just clicking left or right based on colors of words.
However, the age-old puzzle of whether or not a word matches its color is age-old for a reason; it’s really hard![sc name=”quote” text=”However, the age-old puzzle of whether or not a word matches its color is age-old for a reason; it’s really hard!”]
When your brain reads a name of a color, it subconsciously sees it colored that very same color. The game knows this and wants your brain to scream in confusion – the colors will shift and addle you, leaving you without a clear idea of whether or not you’re really sane.
What makes the entire experience more confusing and distressing is the multitude of weird ambient effects that plague the screen. The background will flare and swirl when a new word is introduced, or a sudden screech of disharmony when an incorrect choice is made – all of these contribute to a feeling of intense confusion and make it very easy to make a mistake.
However, you can actually just turn off the majority of these effects in the options menu, assuming you’re a complete coward.[sc name=”quote” text=”However, you can actually just turn off the majority of these effects in the options menu, assuming you’re a complete coward.”]
That the game punishes you so much for even trying to play it is normally extremely irritating but… OLDTV is still so captivating. It’s consistent – if somewhat frightening – aesthetic is engaging and addictive. It feels like you’re watching one of those aesthetic light shows, complete with eerie, yet calming, music that lulls you into a state of serenity.
The gameplay is hard – sanity testing, distressingly hard – but the overall experience of OLDTV is pleasant and engaging. It’s hard to imagine, when you first open the game, that you’ll find it so enjoyable yet, here you are, still playing it several hours later.
Your mind will bleed, but you’ll have an extremely good time.
[review pros=”Engaging, if somewhat distressing, aesthetic. The gameplay somehow doesn’t get bored.” cons=”The combination of confusing, aggravating gameplay and the harsh music can be distressing.” score=9]
[appbox appstore id1392377960]
