We knew that original Portal lead and new creative head at Airtight Games, Kim Swift, would be debuting her latest project at PAX Prime. However, those who won't be in attendance at the show can have themselves a little sneak peak at her latest first-person puzzler, Quantum Conundrum, courtesy of GameSpot.
The new title certainly seems to draw a bit of influence from Swift's Portal days, albeit with a new, original art style and an all-new tool: a glove that allows you to shift into multiple different dimensions to solve puzzles contained in each level. The game puts you in the role of a youngster sent off to spend some time with their crazy inventor uncle, Professor Fitz Quadwrangle. Unsurprisingly, your visit is interrupted by something going terribly wrong, and you're forced to navigate his labyrinthine mansion using the glove and its dimension-shifting capabilities.
GameSpot's preview showcases about seven minutes of video as well, narrated by none other than Swift herself. She shows off a couple of different puzzles, as well as the first dimensional shift you receive, a fluffy, pink dimension that makes all objects in the area 10 times lighter. The preview also mentions other dimensions, such as a slow-motion dimension that cuts back the pace of time, and a reverse gravity dimension, which, naturally, reverses gravity. There will be four different dimensions in all, and as the levels progress in difficulty, you'll have to use various combinations of them in increasingly harried fashion to succeed.
While the game's basic similarities to Portal are pretty obvious from the video (which I've gone to the trouble of embedding for you below), the multitude of mechanics and Swift's general talent for creating challenging, if not overly labyrinthine puzzles can't help but inspire a bit of excitement for this latest title. Square-Enix will be publishing it for PC, Xbox Live Arcade, and the PlayStation Network sometime in early 2012. With any luck, one of our dudes will be able to check it out on the PAX show floor and report back accordingly. And now that I've said that out loud, they pretty much don't have a choice but to do so, since I've now raised all of your expectations. You're welcome, everyone.