Bad things don’t really happen amidst the rural downs and plains of Wiltshire, England. Overly chalky tap water is considered a legitimate emergency, and the closest thing to a mass murder is a fox running rampant in a local chicken coop. So it’s a curious setting for The Bradwell Conspiracy, a new puzzle platformer from Bossa Studios and developer A Brave Plan that’s set in a museum right next to Stonehenge circa 2026.
Thing is, the entire building has collapsed into a sinkhole caused by a scientific research facility running beneath the Salisbury Plain, and you need to find a way out while uncovering the secrets of the subterranean complex.
The colourful, cheery art style and tone of The Bradwell Conspiracy, bolstered by voice acting from venerable British talents like Jonathan Ross and Abubakar Salim (Black Mirror, Assassin’s Creed: Origins), deceives a deep puzzle game that doesn’t readily give away what you’re supposed to do at each moment.
The puzzles are based around your use of a 3D printing gun, which can replicate objects in your environment by downloading their blueprints and converting them into Bradwellium, a mysterious material that can turn into any object stored in your printing gun’s memory. Turn planks into walkways to cross formidable chasms, repair parts of the facility, and engage in manufactured puzzles that will make you feel suspiciously like a scurrying lab rat.
Wrapped around all this brain-frazzling is a rich narrative adventure that’s at once an intriguing mystery thriller and a showcase of interactive world-building. Inspired by games like Bioshock and Firewatch, developer A Brave Plan wants players to take their time and interact with items in the world to learn the shady story of Bradwell Electronics, and what exactly your part in the whole kerfuffle is.
You can learn about the world simply by poking around the detailed environments, but your main source of information will be a woman named Amber, a Bradwell Electronics employee who’s also found herself stuck in the ruins of the complex. The problem is that you and Amber are in different parts of the building, your vocal cords are fried due to smoke inhalation, and the only way you can communicate is via photos you take using a pair of smart glasses.
Through this asymmetrical form of communication, you slowly learn about the events leading up to the building’s collapse. If you see a diagram, pamphlet or curious object in the environment, take a snapshot and see if Amber has anything to say about it. She may hit you back with an insightful piece of lore, or she may berate you for repeatedly sending her useless pictures of a swivelling office chair.
Amber also has elevated access to various parts of the building, and with a snap of your smart glasses is capable of opening doors, controlling the power, and helping you out with puzzles you get stuck on. She’s your guiding light, and one of the more interesting mechanics of the game as the extent to which you call upon her is really up to you.
In the spirit of classics like Portal, The Bradwell Conspiracy embraces the fusion of clever puzzle-solving with whimsical humour, sharp writing and storycraft. It’s a distinctly British sci-fi adventure that will test your mental mettle as you uncover its secrets through 3D-printing, puzzle-solving, and nagging your remote assistant Amber.
You can grab The Bradwell Conspiracy on Steam now!
