![]() There were multiple instances where I used a costume ability to "reach" a tough spot I thought was sure would have a Balan Statue, only to fall straight through the platform because it was not actually part of the level.Įach area also lacks clear urgency and goals. The lack of sharpness causes more than its fair share of frustration. ![]() Level design is imaginative, but everything looks horribly dated, making it difficult to gauge distances or even tell what's a platform and what's not. I found myself always bringing along a costume that had a good attack move, one that had a good navigation move, and one that had some sort of specialty that helped solve puzzles. If you're on a slope when the costume decides to morph, you'll very likely be starting the level over. Box Fox, for example, turns you into a fox and, periodically, into a box. ![]() It's extremely frustrating that such a basic action, one so pivotal to not just the game but the entire genre, isn't useable at will.Ĭonsidering how much Balan Wonderworld hypes its massive selection of costumes, it shouldn't be surprising that some of them are not exceptionally useful. To jump again, you must switch to a different costume: one that has jump as its action. If you change to your dragon costume, for example, that input switches to a fireball attack - but then you can't jump. If you aren't in a costume, all you can do is jump, an action that gets mapped to all of the buttons. You can move, perform actions while in a costume, and change your costume. It's a creative way to add difficulty to Balan Wonderworld's simplified take on puzzles and platforming.Įverything else quickly comes off the rails.Ĭontrols are important to every platformer's success, but Balan's controls are often loose and unresponsive. The general idea is that each chapter has certain puzzles that require backtracking you encounter objectives in early chapters that can only be solved after unlocking costumes in later chapters. After collecting enough statues, new chapters open up in the hub. Inside, they are greeted by Balan, an extremely well-dressed clown who performs a booming musical number and whisks them off to a magical world where they help other people who have lost their way.Įach "chapter" of Balan Wonderworld is themed around a different person, such as "The Man Who Rages at the Storm." In each chapter, you collect costumes with different abilities and use them to then solve puzzles, and by doing so, collect different colored gems and Balan Statues. Regardless of which character you play as, they both end up in a dilapidated theater called Balan Wonderworld. Leo begins by dancing in the park, impressing people and then walking away without talking to anyone. ![]() Emma begins by seeing people whispering behind her back everywhere she goes. Though the story is convoluted and difficult to make out since very little is explained either narratively or mechanically, the basic premise of Balan Wonderworld is this: you play as either Leo or Emma, or both if there are two players, who are each going through rough patches.ĭepending on the character you choose, the game begins a bit differently. Its design and sensibilities feel hopelessly dated, the controls are oversimplified and lack tightness, and none of its elements live up to their potential. Nothing is abjectly terrible in Balan Wonderworld, but almost nothing works. The opening cinematic is, unfortunately, the high point here.
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