Antechamber definition is - anteroom. Did You Know? Did You Know? One expects to find an antechamber outside the private chambers of a Supreme Court.

Review by David ValjaloUnlike Portal, there's no test-subject narrative behind Antichamber, an austerely intellectual first-person puzzler from indie dev Alexander Bruce - but that doesn't mean you aren't under the microscope. As you wander the blinding white corridors of a space-bending facility, unpicking the cryptic clues within, you're encouraged to think that your own psychological state is the real barrier to progress in the game's interweaving, claustrophobic tunnels.Wall-mounted plaques punctuate each new area and challenge, delivering existential wisdom of a seemingly glib kind. 'The path of least resistance is a valid option,' says one. Another reads: 'A few steps backwards may keep you moving forwards.' Pong too hard time.

But these are also crucial hints, some a good deal more opaque than they first appear, to puzzles which intentionally avoid conformity. One challenge might simply task you with following signs to the exit, another may secretly encourage you to ignore them, while others play with space and perspective in ways which defy traditional game logic: walk up to a window, fill your monitor with the world inside and, like magic, you're in it.The first section of the game is a breathless parade of new ideas that approach puzzling laterally, forcing you to muddle your way past non-euclidian geometry and other brain-bending architecture. The latter half introduces more traditional mechanics in the form of four handheld gun-things that fill in voids, pick up and shoot blocks, and clear matter out of your way.

Even though these tools offer new methods of traversing earlier environments, it's a somewhat anticlimactic transition from the relentless invention of the game's opening - but that doesn't make the tests here any less agonising to fathom or a triumph to conquer.When you nail a solution - often best achieved by taking a time-out and drinking a cup of tea, very calmly, as your nails grow back - you feel like a cross between Hercule Poirot and Socrates. Hercules, if you will. That said, there are some puzzles in here guilty of simple obscurity, and this undermines the satisfaction of their completion as well as throwing off the pace of the game. Luckily a hub room (instantly accessible by a tap of ESC) allows re-entry to any of the game's main areas, alleviating the need to pummel yourself against the same puzzle, and allowing you to re-evaluate the messages you've encountered so far.For some, Antichamber may prove a little draining. It's a title that aspires to challenge your way of thinking and problem-solving and it's a slightly chilly and solitary experience with it. If that doesn't sound like much fun - there are certainly times it isn't - that's likely part of Bruce's point, suggesting life is a struggle in which you get out what you put in. But Antichamber isn't all earnest chin-stroking theory - it also hosts moments of transcendent beauty and vignettes that engage your brain on a level few games attempt.Price: $20 / £12.50Release: Out NowPublisher: Alexander BruceDeveloper: Alexander BruceWebsite: http://www.antichamber-game.com/.

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Personally I think it's a fantastic piece of work. I can't think of any other game that I've played where my first reaction is to just try something instead of looking for the right thing to do. It's refreshing to just be given a space to explore with minimal hand holding.Also the menu room is a really nice touch.

From a technical stand point menu selections are no different from throwing in-game switchs (it's all just adjusting variables) so it's nice to see the menu in-game.All in all it appears to really break down what a game actually is and what it could be. Space manipulation is one area where games have a distinct advantage over media and yet it seems to be so under-utilised as a tool.I'd be interested to hear what other people's thoughts on it.

Probably the most fun I've ever had in a puzzle game. I loved walking down a corridor and suddenly not being in it, turning round and that one too had gone. Mapping extra dimensions in my head to navigate was fun!:DI've played it twice now. First time was just before release (Yay for review copies) and finished it in just over 2 hours. Second time I went back and really searched for stuff and tried to break it as much as possible. I love that every time I thought I'd one-upped the game I just found out that I was in a secret room with concept art and stuff.It's a game for people who like to break games. I love it.:D.

I completed it the other day and after awhile I was sure it couldn't get any better but even that ending was both fascinating and interesting.Anyway, I'm really impressed by pretty much every aspect of it. We ask for new and unique things all the time and I can't think of anything that has achieved this to such extent, in recent memory.Exploring a non-euclidean space as, a concept alone, is something I couldn't be more excited about but he just kept introducing more unique and interesting mechanics as well. It's difficult for me to believe the amount of creativity he was capable of. Very stark use of colours but also very useful in puzzles.I'm sure he used at least one binaural audio track for one of the rooms which was neat to experience. I've felt that kind of technology is very sadly underutilized in anything, really. But the calm ambient tracks helped me remain in a fairly relaxed state where I was able to keep working through every challenge and concept at a comfortable pace.Overall I'd say my experience with it was very much like games used to feel back when I was less informed about them and they contained more wonder and I was excited to play them. Not that I don't find enjoyment in a lot of today's games but I haven't felt this pleased with a game since Portal, and I have trouble comparing the two because a big part of Portal was narrative which Antichamber smartly avoids to focus on the robust set of core mechanics and puzzles.Antichamber is a rare and unique experience that I feel everyone should have and it saddens me that anyone would spoil it for themselves by following a guide for even one puzzle.

There's never a point where you flat-out cannot progress because you can't figure out one puzzle. Just leave and come back to it, there's nothing that could possibly be wrong with that.TL;DR A rambling discourse of things I felt like saying about Antichamber. The best game I've played in a long time.