Upon first encounter with Binaries one can incorrectly assume it's one of those 'let's control two things at once with two thumb sticks' games that have been reasonably popular of late. While it is true that in Binaries the player does control two objects at the same time, they do so via the use of a single developer Ant Workshop for coming up with something so mind-bogglingly difficult to fathom.
Binaries presents the player with a 2D level that has a series of platforms and hazards that need to be navigated in order for the two small balls that rest on the left hand side of the screen to reach a designated safe spot on the right hand side.
These levels and balls are coloured orange and blue and the colourings play a vital role in overcoming the increasingly difficult levels. The principle here is that only hazards that are the same colour as the ball that touches them can harm them.
For example, when a long row of orange spikes runs across the level the orange ball cannot touch them - if they do, the player fails and they have to start again. However, the blue ball can roll along these spikes without hindrance.
Therefore, in order to complete the level the player must have the colour ball interact with those hazards that do not match its colour. That's all while controlling both the balls (which, by the way, cannot pass through one another) at the same time. This can result in the player knocking the balls into each other, sometimes for the good but often into their doom.
I really enjoyed playing Binaries as it forces you to look closely at the entire screen and level, to the point where I often had to sit back to see what I had to do in order to conquer it. I never blamed the game for my errors as it was never unfair. I simply had to fathom what I was supposed to do in order to overcome it. Oh and there is a running commentary through Binaries, which is really very funny, at least for the most part.
