One of the things I look forward to during any mass E3-esque ensemble of upcoming titles, is the prospect that for all the grandiose talk and bravado -- that despite most of the attention likely to be snatched up by those studios and publishers with the furthest reach -- there's bound to be one "smaller" little name or sneak-peak that manages to distract me. If not completely absolve me from seeing what both the AAA and the more popular indie (oxymoron, I know) circles have to show, at the very least provide something that on occasion, puts things in perspective. That perspective being: it doesn't matter how flashy or extravagant your reveal is -- no matter how deep you plunder into one's thesaurus to come up with words other than "revolutionary", "innovative", "compelling" or other such repeated buzzwords -- sometimes the most interesting talking points, are those that avoid all this. Regardless of whether what one is showing, is entirely new to that specific time, or not. At least the surprise of where it ends up [re-]appearing, isn't lost.

But that's exactly what has happened with a little-known, minimalistic puzzle-platformer by the name of ElecHead. Created predominantly by one-man developer Nama Takahashi, with Tsyomi providing sound design support. ElecHead's presence during today's Day of the Devs showcase should, in theory, have been little more than a means to highlight Asobu more so. A company aiming to support independant creators in Japan. Yet whether it's for the reasons posted above, or something else more personal -- a drive to find a game that manages to be more than its initial visuals paint -- I couldn't help but latch onto ElecHead, seeing and hearing of it for the first time, with a fond appreciation for its simplicity. Simplicity not in a derogatory way, but a humble one. The kind of stripped-back and admittedly more challenging, self-propelled task of both enticing and delighting all those who play it. In this case, an incredibly brief twenty-or-so minute demo of the game's introductory sequence of puzzles. Even if the game's pitch is honest with its estimating of a roughly three hour total play-time, twenty minutes on its own is still a short amount of time to conclude anything sizeable.

ElecHead Preview Screenshot

Or if you're a game like ElecHead, twenty minutes is more than enough to prove both delightfully back-to-basics and humbly reminiscent on the kind of nostalgic game design we all love to recall back to. Back to a time when games were more trusting of player intuition and intellect. When secrets and hidden path-ways felt satisfying to discover because they weren't so blatantly spelt out for us. When the very act of designing a puzzle was as much about providing enough of a subtle suggestion that the slight embarrassment of not figuring out sooner, is exactly that: slight. And ElecHead manages to conjure all these brief moments of satisfaction, whilst still providing a neat little gimmick to punctuate both its general puzzle-solving, as much its minimalistic aesthetic. The idea that any surface your character touches, becomes electrified or otherwise enabled. Platforms materialising or disappearing; electrical devices blocking one's way forward.

Switch-pressing, door-opening 2D/2.5D puzzle games are of course nothing new. Puzzle-platformer titles in general, are nothing new. We've all gone through these same motions and in the past half-decade alone, the sub-genre has only grown more denser, if not more innovative. There have been those that have stood out, just as much as there have been those that, though quaint, may not exactly set the world alight. ElecHead's use of a stripped-back color palette -- a primary use of pale, steel-blue, white and orange -- is also one the game can not/should not claim to be of its own making. Comparisons, call-back's and references are show to be close by. Looked at solely through the lens of pure originality, ElecHead certainly isn't winning anything in this regard. So why has it struck such a chord with me? Why is it that I felt compelled to try out the free demo the moment I saw it?

ElecHead Preview Screenshot 2

Maybe it's that philosophy on returning to simpler times (when attaining victory felt evermore sweeter) but without feeling like some insidious attempt at shallow nostalgia, that I admire. Not unlike a Shovel Knight in that regard, even if the comparisons are largely loose. More so, making quick work of the demo (but not without going back to find its five, hidden collectibles), ElecHead was another wonderful example of a developer, an individual, trusting in player willingness. That for those ocassional sequences that appeared impossible, a tad confusing to work out, knowing that players will eventually resort to experimenting and testing what one can get away with, is both commendable and respected. And this is before you obtain the ability to separate your electrified head from your body and the subsequent puzzles thereafter encompass consideration on space, positioning and careful time management.

It could be my love more so for the Puzzle genre wholesale (or maybe my love, in and out of said genre, for "less = more" sucker-punch releases) as to why an incredibly brief demo such as this, resonates so. As much as it could be my continuing desire to champion clever level design -- an aspect of video games that so often is eclipsed by other admittedly-important aspects like graphics, technical performance and music. Not least when it sits alongside a respecting of the players it's hoping to keep fixated for the long-run. There's just something about ElecHead. Better yet, its reassurance that time spent delving a little deeper into grand showcases -- whether that's E3 or somewhere else in the yearly cycle of game events -- can unearth some unknown, seldom-seen delights that more-than-deserve their due attention. No release date yet for when ElecHead will be available for PC, but be sure to check out its free itch.io demo right here.