Adrenaline on the boundaries of emergent thought. Rez is, while definitely a game, there is an aspect to it that is entirely aesthetic, as merely the experiential dynamic of the game could carry the play entirely. Attempting to explain Rez is a bit difficult, but most have relegated it to being a form of rail-shooter. Personally it seems a bit mundane to lump it into such a category, as there is a real process of iterative design wherein the player as character is playing a form of evolutionary visualization.
When moving from level to level, there is an imperative placed upon the player which responds to style of play as well as the quality which makes the level a game. If I were to attempt to accurately describe what this is, it’s a sort of active puzzler where chaining creates musical reactions from the iterative design the player impresses upon the game. Though not dynamically generated, the game has an element of generation based upon the player’s responses, moving up and down through the level based on performance, in a manner somewhat similar to the bit.trip series, though a bit more forgiving.
From a feel perspective, the experience of Rez is a bit like gliding along an evolutionary track of technology, with a reactionary, linked connection to the player. The musical aspect is entirely necessary to fully appreciate this, as the tracks are ones which change based on linking and combinations granted throughout play. Each space is themed, has a definite construction about our relationships to systems, and asks us, on not so uncertain terms, to question and break them down. Rez is thus a statement against the grain of technological thinking.
Though such a statement about systems is somewhat ironic, given that Rez is a game constructed entirely for a system, the message is definitely about what is missing from the experience, much of which relates to a human element which the game is asking frequent questions about. In a sense, Rez is asking to what end an individual thinks of the system. The entire point of the game is to hack the system, to break the system, to destroy the system.
Being mired in systems as we are, Rez is interesting in asking such a question, as so few games do. Peering behind the veneer of so many games lies a certain consideration for what players expect out of a purchased experience. If there is a game that asks why those systems are in place, what purpose they serve, whether or not they are helpful or harmful to the individual, Rez is indicative that at least somebody in the games community is asking those questions at a design level. Which is hopeful, though Rez was made nearly a decade ago. There is much to still be questioned which often goes unquestioned due to the myriad of problems still existing within the game design community.
Recommended: Yes