Solar Plexus starts out in a similar vein as that of the classic Super Metroid. You are a female bounty hunter that has been sent to a space station that has lost all contact with the outside world. Fearing for the worst, your superiors have decided that you are the best woman for the job. Here is where the (minimal) story begins. Since the game is incomplete, it's also pretty much where it ends, as the player is left with a cliff-hanger after beating the first boss. But there are not many freeware games you play for the story, after all. Most are there for the awesome gameplay.

Solar Plexus plays much like a normal platformer. You run, you gun, and you avoid enemies. In each level, you must gather up the golden faceplate to complete it. At least that's what we think it is. Along the way, creatures, tricky jumps, and environmental hazards will disrupt your flow, causing you to lose precious time and possibly your life. All in the line of duty, of course. Your life is measures by a percentage, and things such as crashing into enemies or hitting electric fences will reduce this percentage until you die. You can also gather three silver faceplates through judicious manipulation of the environment, but we are unsure as to what this actually does.

Solar Plexus' gimmick, much like the rest of konjak's game, revolves around the use of the mouse. Your character's movement is standard, right down to the crouching, sliding, and edge hanging. There are purple blocks scattered around the place that respond to your mouse-clicks, and they must be used effectively in order to complete each level. Every special brick also comes in the grey variety, which indicates that it can not be moved. The blocks are:

• Your standard purple block, which acts as a platform and a barrier. In other words, just a block to move around. The most plentiful kind of block.
• The launcher block. Launchers come in several varieties, from the two-arrow launchers that launch you extremely far to the horizontal launchers that allow you to sneak through small spaces you would not normally get into.
  
• The bullet block. Bullet blocks will shoot bullets towards you whenever you left click on them. These bullets hurt the enemies, but not you. Rather, you absorb the bullets into your suit (up to 50 of them) and can use them later by left-clicking somewhere. You fire extremely rapidly, it is worth noting, and most enemies die after about 10 bullets.
• The attractor block, which encases you in a bubble as long as you click and hold the left mouse button on it. Holding up will drag you towards the block, and holding down will drag you away. You can do things like briefly let up and then click again to maneuver yourself, as there is no timer or special nature to this block besides the attraction.

Solar Plexus has one full level that is broken into six normal stages, two boss stages, and one bonus stage that you unlock by getting three or more stars on the fourth level. Each level is distinguished by a unique name and usually has a theme about it, such as launcher blocks or the blinding move (holding down the right mouse button, then releasing). Each level is also judged on a scale of up to five stars in two categories: block movement and time. The final stage stars are the average of the two, making fast, intelligent movement a must. Chances are you won't get a five star rating the first time, but Solar Plexus is a game that is so short and fun that it's easy to play and master. There is also a teaser of the second level before the game was released and abandoned.

The fact that Solar Plexus is an unfinished game is its biggest downfall. The game itself screams for a level editor that allows people to share levels, but none was released with the beta due to the work that would have been involved. The game is delightful in almost every way, especially in the lush pixel art and superb sound, but it is very short and with very little replayability. While you might be the kind of person to obsessively get five stars on every stage, you also might not be. In this case, Solar Plexus is a great way to spend 30 minutes for a succinct, excellent adventure.

While konjak may have decided to stop working on Solar Plexus, it is by no means a bad game. Just because somebody did not enjoy working on something does not mean that they hate the game itself, or that the game is unplayable. Solar Plexus is such a refined, excellent puzzle game, even as a single-level unfinished project, and it speaks volumes about how games can still be great even when the developer has washed their hands of the project. It would be a complete shame if you did not give it a try due to the fact that it isn't complete. You can download Solar Plexus (PC users only!) on konjak's site. Aim for a complete 5-star of the game!

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