There is something unique and quite endearing about the art style and feel of 39 Days to Mars. This was the first thing that I thought when I started playing it. From the first second that you begin playing all the way through, the entire presentation is so fully absorbed into the world that the people at It’s Anecdotal have created, that it’s nearly impossible to imagine someone playing it and not being immediately sold on the idea. The world they give us is one that is closely related to our own history, but with a steampunk-y twist of fancy that makes these two characters that you and a friend will control, explorers of the stars, with the mission of flying to Mars. Except that it feels more like a Jules Verne story, a la Around the World in 80 Days than anything more modern.
The entire game is designed with 2 player local co-op in mind. You can play with two controllers or with two players on a single keyboard, if needed. The puzzles are an interesting combination of mental challenges mixed with a required deftness and communication between the two players to coordinate their inputs and solve the puzzles. For example, there is a puzzle at the beginning of the game that requires each player to take control of one of two cranks. One crank raises and lowers a line with a hook on it, while the other crank makes the line go left and right along the track from which it is suspended. So, each player has a simple responsibility that becomes much more of a challenge when you have to put the two together to guide the hook through a kind of maze in order to retrieve a key.
All of the puzzles follow this theme to some degree or other, where there is a mental element that the two players are encouraged to help each other figure out, and a physical element that requires good communication and teamwork in order to complete. None of the puzzles would be easily solved with only a single character. There is a solo mode in which you are aided by a cat, which to me, proved more difficult (and less rewarding) than the two-player mode, which is how the game was intended to be played.
The art direction in the game is gorgeous. Everything has a hand-drawn, sepia-toned look, which gives the entire thing a whimsical, almost childlike sense of fantasy and awe. Both characters, Albert and Baxter, are voice-acted by extremely talented people who give the world a aural tone that matches its visuals. The game is, well, fun and pleasant, and a real treat to share with a friend for a little while. It is broken up into easily digestible segments, which can be tackled individually and without having to devote hours and hours at a time in order to make any progress.
The whole thing is just a wonderful adventure into unique storytelling, fantastic imagination, and really engaging gameplay. The simplicity of the controls only helps dive the players into the world more easily and helps them enjoy the evolving story of helping Albert and Baxter keep their spaceship from falling apart on its perilous voyage to Mars.
I can’t recommend this game enough. I really think there is something quite unique and memorable about the whole experience, which would definitely best be shared with a friend. However, the game is still charming and a wonderful puzzle experience even if you have to experience it alone.
