The Proteus Experience

Proteus isn’t a game, it’s a concept. Ed Key and David Kanaga’s indie title is a tough one to review, as we’re likely to descend into a discussion about how one defines what a videogame is. Just so you know, the score on the right hand side is redundant in this case, so you’ll have to decide whether Proteus interests you by partaking in a bit of old fashioned reading.

The main draw and purpose of Proteus comes entirely from two attributes: music and visuals. Neither can exist without the other in this case, as Proteus’ sole purpose is to take you on an audiovisual tour of a randomly generated island.

For every rainy cloud, pixelated owl or patch of flowers you come across, Proteus’ music will change and incorporate what you see into its percussion soundtrack. For instance, when it begins to rain, the sound of raindrops will become personified by a gentle flurry of xylophone pings.

In terms of content, that’s actually it. Key and Kanaga want you to enjoy their creation, and it is - for about ten minutes. Whilst each island you explore is randomly generated, they just aren’t random enough to make traipsing around it worthwhile. Incentive comes in a postcard function - where you can tap the R1 button to capture what you’re looking at as a screenshot - but you’ll either end up with an album of tree pictures, or long shots of the sun setting.

As it stands, Proteus isn’t much of a game. What it is though, is an excellent idea. Music based exploration is a concept that has been largely untouched in the videogame industry, and we can only hope that the game is a template for its developers to advance into a grander idea. We can’t recommend that you play or avoid Proteus. Whilst there’s nothing wrong with it mechanically, there’s also not really anything to do with it. If you want to support indie devs, go for it, otherwise, we suggest you find a YouTube video to watch. The only thing you’ll be missing out on by watching rather than playing is not having to move the camera.