Review - The Company of Myself

There's a good chance you've never played a game like this.

The Company of Myself is a flash animation puzzle game developed by Newgrounds.com user Eli Piilonen (FreeAsANerd). The artwork was done by Newgrounds.com artist luka m (luka), and the music for the game was written by David Carney. This puzzle game was submitted to Newgrounds.com on November 22, 2009 and won a Daily Feature award on November 23, 2009 as well as a Weekly 2nd Place award on November 24, 2009.

Game Background

In the game's prelude, you are told a story about a hermit from his perspective. He tells you that before he was alone, he had two passions in life: performing, and a girl named Kathryn. He goes on to say that he will tell you his story in a more interesting allegory, which becomes the game.

Gameplay

You are in control of the hermit as he tells you his story. He will take you through a short tutorial in the beginning. Before long, you learn the hermit's special ability to clone himself by pressing spacebar. His clones follow the movements of his previous self. For example, let's say the hermit walks forward a few steps, then presses spacebar. The hermit will restart, and a clone will also appear. The clone will walk a few steps, just like his previous self. Each clone will copy the last movements made by the hermit. Clones do not copy each other. The number of clones that can be made is displayed at the top-left of the screen. Use the clones to help you reach the green door at the end of each stage. The most common use of the clone is to jump on the clone to reach higher ground. As you progress through the game, you will encounter a number of obstacles, most of which can be overcome with the hermit's cloning ability.

In case you get stuck, there is a "help me." button that you can press at the top-right of the screen, which will take you to a new page with the game's walkthrough.

Game Controls

Use arrow keys to move around.
Press Up arrow to jump.
Press spacebar before reaching the green door to clone self (more details in Gameplay). When you reach the green door, press spacebar to proceed to the next level.
Press A to pull levers.
Press R to restart the stage.
Press P or Esc to pause and change volume.

Review

There are very few games that combine a great story line with great gameplay. The Company of Myself is one of them. Each level has a unique challenge as well as another piece of the hermit's story. This blend keeps players engaged. Because of its interactive nature, the game makes a good connection with players, adding to its replay value. The music further adds to the game's appeal. With two tracks, one mysterious and eerie, the other light and beautiful, players will not feel frustrated by the looping audio.

The Company of Myself scores a 10/10. This game is too ingenious not to play.

Spoilers

As you go through the game, the hermit will relate to you his story. You will eventually meet Kathryn and get to use her help to get both Kathryn and the hermit to the green door.

Once you beat the last level, the game will end with a short report about the hermit. This time, the hermit's story is told from the perspective of a shrink who has been talking to the hermit for 8 years. The hermit, named Jack, has been in the hospital with a serious mental illness after the death of Kathryn. According to the shrink, Jack has retold his story every week for 8 years since the shrink started visiting.