The Golden Compass

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The game is played from a third-person perspective with players controlling either Lyra Belacqua and her dæmon Pan, or the Panserbjørne Iorek Byrnison. Lyra's levels primarily involve platforming, stealth and puzzle solving,[3] whilst Iorek's are mainly melee combat based.[4]

A major aspect of the gameplay of Lyra's levels involves the shape-shifting ability of Pan, who has access to four forms; Ermine, Sloth, Hawk and Wildcat, each with its own unique ability. The Ermine's ability is "Insight", which allows Lyra to discover information about her surroundings, find hotspots, and unveil secrets. The Sloth's ability is "Whip", which allows Lyra to swing from poles and reach areas she cannot simply jump to. The Hawk's ability is "Glide", which allows Lyra to glide a short distance, covering gaps she wouldn't be able to any other way. The Wildcat's ability is "Climb", which allows Lyra to climb certain surfaces to reach otherwise inaccessible areas. Players often have to shift form mid-move. For example, to reach a certain platform, Lyra may need to use the "Whip" ability to swing on a pole, and after releasing herself from the pole may need to immediately use the "Glide" ability to reach the platform.[5][6][7]

Also important in Lyra's levels are Evasion and Deception minigames. Evasion games occur whenever Lyra is spotted by an enemy and involves button presses to correspond with icons on screen to allow Lyra escape from her pursuer. Deception games are more common and occur regularly throughout her levels. These games take place whenever Lyra is involved in a conversation with someone and is attempting to deceive them. The better the player performs in the minigame, the more successful Lyra is in her deception. The minigames include, but are not limited to, matching symbols, collecting falling icons, avoiding falling icons, a Whac-A-Mole type game and a snooker type game.

Another major aspect of the gameplay is the Alethiometer. Once the player has access to the Alethiometer, it can be asked certain set questions. The device has thirty-six symbols on its outer edge, each with three meanings. These meanings are discovered over the course of game; some are learned automatically, some must be sought out by the player. For each question, Lyra is given three words, and each word is assigned a hand on the Alethiometer. If Lyra knows the corresponding symbol of a given word, the handle automatically turns to the correct symbol. Words she doesn't know must be guessed by the player. When the three hands are all pointing at symbols, the player confirms the selection and Lyra asks the question. A balancing minigame then begins, where the player must press buttons corresponding to the on-screen display. The more symbols which were correctly identified in the first part of the game, the easier the balancing game is.