There are few games that mix science in with gaming, fewer still that do so successfully. Particulars is a puzzle game that doesn’t quite manage it. In a nutshell you control a particle in a simulated universe, solving puzzles with positive and negative atoms. The game comes from a place of real particle physics, and is happy for you to pause at any moment and tell you more about them. Each object has a little blurb about it and all of the particles have an explanation of how they interact with other particles.
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Are you a SpaceChem fan who wishes its brand of dizzyingly complex, scientifically accurate gameplay could extend to particle physics? Well, first of all, your fantasy game has arrived in the form of Particulars. Second, you’re probably insane; when I first told my girlfriend I was playing a game about quarks (and explained that quarks are the particles atoms are composed of) she immediately blurted, “That sounds like the most boring game in the world!” While she wasn’t quite right – the sheer novelty of the concept prevents it from ever really becoming dull – the game is extremely flawed. More than anything, its unfailing commitment to scientific accuracy ensures it will never achieve fame as anything other than a moderately educational curiosity.
Nicholas Ballantyne at GameCloud Australia writes:
"While it’s not going to turn you into a particle physicist anytime soon, Particulars is a game that might just pique your interest in the field. Regardless of its subject matter, the game is a fun if somewhat short puzzle platformer that’s certainly worth a look. It might be bogged down by excessive melodrama, but the gameplay more than makes up for it. You wouldn’t think a game about particle physics would be fun, but I can assure you that Particulars is. Doesn’t make quantum physics any less weird though."
Tom Reeder, GIZORAMA - "If you’ve ever wondered what happens when you put particle physics and puzzle games into a Large Hadron Collider, the answer you’re looking for is Particulars, a puzzle game about all the complicated stuff you didn’t understand in science class. In concept, the game seems pretty interesting, requiring the player to actually think in order to accomplish the task set out for them at the beginning of each level. In execution, this is a game with a wildly varying difficulty level, which sometimes matches the wild and uncontrollable movements of the player-particle."
