Explore a universe of sweet robotic sacrifice in Probe Team

[Administrator]

Back in August, Ludum Dare ran its 27th game-making competition, and the unifying theme was 10 seconds. Ludum Dare always turns out a fascinating bunch of projects, of course, but Andrew Shouldice's Probe Team, which beat over 2000 other entries to win the event, is really special.
The set-up suggests a murky kind of space-truckers horror. Through the dim sodium yellow glow of an old computer terminal screen, you control a robotic probe as it seeks to explore and repair a complex system of vents and pipes. Or rather, you control a series of robotic probes, since each individual machine has only ten seconds' worth of fuel to move themselves around with before they come to a halt.
What emerges, in pacy bursts of speed, is an exploration game in which you move in short hops, using one probe to get you to a lock, say, that might open a door for your next probe to push through and continue the mission. Like The Swapper, it's a sci-fi game adventure revolving around sacrifice - but the tone this time is incongruously up-beat.
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