Yesterday, Daniel Benmergui released Today I Die. Today, I spent a few minutes (okay, maybe a few hours) swimming around in his simple yet beautiful little world, trying to find all of the hidden secrets.

At first glance, it’s a rather depressing scene, marked by an equally depressing poem. But much like the real world, Benmergui’s little ocean in Today I Die is changeable, and capable of finding beauty.

The game’s biggest strength is its simplistic design and curiosity-provoking interface. There isn’t too much going on at any given moment, but that’s a good thing, because you can play around with what’s in front of you, and learn how the funny little world works.

Today I Die also wins points for being beautiful, in that artsy, abstract sort of way. The game art is so simple that it’s undistracting (and, let’s be honest, I have a weak spot for pixelated art), and the piano soundtrack is just plain lovely.

It’s worth multiple playthroughs just to see how the ending changes, and once you’ve got the hang of things, the game only takes a few minutes to complete. Without spoiling too much, I’ll say that both endings (that I’ve found, at least…is there a third?) are very satisfying, albeit in completely different ways. The story is very dreamlike and fanciful, and watching how it evolves is a treat — especially because it’s up to the player to determine the progression of the poem.

Seems pretty fabulous, right? It is, but there’s one major feature that poses a gigantic roadblock for players with limited patience: there aren’t any directions. If you’re curious by nature, that’s not a problem, but a design like this has the potential to be incredibly frustrating. Frankly, if I weren’t so stubborn, I might have closed the window without getting past the first iteration of the poem, and that would have been sad.

There are also some definite timesinks, perhaps intentionally placed, that do not contribute at all to the story’s progression. I spent quite a lot of time feeding jellyfish to the piranhas before I realized that they would just keep spawning, and that I was focused on the wrong thing.

I haven’t decided whether this is truly a negative point, but it’s something that sticks out to me: I have not yet figured out how to “lose” the game. Despite the title, it appears that the girl does not ever actually die, and that lovely piano soundtrack will just keep looping until one figures out how to complete the game or gives up in frustration.

Moral of the story: art is sometimes confusing, and the world doesn’t always come with directions, but despite all of this, it’s an interesting ride.

Play Today I Die here. At the moment, it’s hosted ad-free, thanks to a generous donor (unusual individual, as the site claims).

I have came across a list of emotions after the jump that can be used during the avatar creation process. These can be used to create a really cool gamer picture. If you have discovered any that aren’t detailed below, please feel free to share.

While in Avatar Customizer

Left Bumper – Makes Avatar do a random expression: depressed, apologetic, surprised, laughing, or angry.
Right Bumper - Opens Avatar’s mouth
Hold Left or Right Trigger - Spins Avatar making it lose its balance.
Move Right Thumbstick - Rotates Avatar’s head.
Move Right Thumbstick Left, Right, Left, Right – Makes Avatar angry.
Move Right Thumbstick Up, Down, Up, Down - Makes Avatar happy.
Rotate Right Thumbstick in a Circle – Makes Avatar dizzy.
Click Right Thumbstick – Makes Avatar burp.
Hold Right Thumbstick Left then move Right – Makes Avatar enthusiastically spin.
Move Right Thumbstick Up then Down - Makes Avatar hit its head on the screen, making it dizzy.

While in Xbox 360 Dashboard

Move Right Thumbstick – Rotates Avatar’s head.
Move Right Thumbstick Left, Right, Left, Right – Makes Avatar angry.
Move Right Thumbstick Up, Down, Up, Down – Makes Avatar happy.
Rotate Right Thumbstick in a Circle – Makes Avatar dizzy.
Click Right Thumbstick - Makes Avatar smile and wave