by It’s hard to say whether or not Boson X is truly inspired by the April discovery of the Higgs-Boson particle, which physicists believe explains why matter has mass. There’s theoretically some common ground. Whereas Higgs, which can supposedly explain the Big Bang, remained elusive to physicists for the past 50-plus years, Boson X is also about the discovery of new experimental subatomics, presumably for a greater understanding – or at least the self-serving satisfaction of winning.
But the similarities between the so-called God particle and this ostensibly geeky behind-the-back runner unsurprisingly end there. Discovery of new elementary particles in Boson X takes the form (for some reason) of sprinting and jumping through an endless geometric landscape, which lies somewhere between the one-click-at-a-time octagonal nature of Tempest and the brutal, randomized dodge-or-die fury of Super Hexagon. You’ll want to stay on a platform at all times, which means needing to jump from one piece to the next, often forcing a screen rotation in the direction of your jump.
Passing over sky blue panels brings up your peak percentage, and once you hit 100{813a954d5e225a1509f22204ece89c855080ce25555f20805f61bed63cbfde3b}, the discovery of a new particle opens up the next stage. Though it’s hard to pull off a good Super Hexagon impression in 3D, Boson X does it well (though the music is mostly annoying). Aesthetic focus aside, there’s a sense of white-knuckle urgency as you barrel onward; one mistimed jump or other human error and you’ll be reset at the start of the experiment.
Yes, the obstacles are probably very familiar, from disappearing and sinking platforms to tricky rotational patterns you must weave in and out of; and also like Hexagon, it’s best to only keep your eyes fixed on what’s ahead. But Boson X is also pretty unforgiving in that a stage isn’t timed just by surviving for a certain length of time – you’ll have to keep yourself alive and reach that 100{813a954d5e225a1509f22204ece89c855080ce25555f20805f61bed63cbfde3b}. While the clean-lined visuals go a long way to help sell the experience, actually living long enough to hit enough blue pieces can be pretty daunting. Yeah, science!
The bottom line. Boson X is easier than quantum mechanics, but don’t call it easy.
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