The kind of platform is not my kind. I don’t like games that fall into this particular category, I’m really bad at them. One thing that never ceases to amaze Me, and the reason why I come back again and again to yearn for new titles, is the level of creative genius that pours into these games. We must remember that each platform, when taken back to the basics, has a fairly basic mechanics. You need to take character A and bring him to point B while you are flying on fixed or mobile platforms. Of course, it would have gotten old very quickly if not for the caution of all the massively brilliant souls out there. In the matter of today’s platformer, I experienced what Unbound: Worlds Apart has to offer. We will dwell on the why and the why, but it is certainly an experience that I really like not being very good.
Unbound feels like man-made meat. The graphics are colorful and the cutscenes are so beautifully animated that you can’t forget that you played a game in the first place. From the first moments of this title, you are moved in, ready and really looking forward to riding. I can’t stress how much the look of Unbound helps the overall feel of this title, and that’s absolutely something to commend.
As it is a platform game, we will look for the mechanics that distinguish this title from the crowd. The things that make us spend our time in this world above the many others. In this particular matter, we are looking at a very clever little gate mechanism. I will notice right away that we are not talking about portals as in Portal, they are not doors that we create to jump between points on a map.
The portals in Unbound transport us for a moment to another world, changing the physics or the appearance of the space in which we find ourselves. An example of this could be that in the real world, we are facing a cliff that is much too high for us to climb. When we change the world, we can see a number of platforms that facilitate this ascent. This change in reality could also change the laws of physics. A huge pit of deadly thorns in front of you? No problem if you can reverse gravity and just walk around the ceiling.
So what makes this game so peril if your ability to change the world literally makes you insensitive to traps? Did I mention that the other world was also full of demons and other evil things that would not eat you at first glance? Oh, no? Well, there is an invading force trying to conquer your peaceful home, and you have to get in and out of your world if you want to succeed. Things that might be completely harmless in the real world are definitely not if you change.
To use an example here, there are cute, very inconspicuous little insects that rush over The place, which are completely harmless. Change the worlds and they turn into hell on the wings that you really want to avoid. Conversely, some rather hideous demons roam their world That they absolutely do not want to meet up close. Shift World and these big one-eyed monsters turn into completely harmless stones to push through the place. Just don’t go back while you’re standing on one.
The world switching mechanism is the backbone of Unbound: Worlds Apart and is used to great effect. It’s definitely not something we often use at the beginning of the game to get players involved and suddenly be forgotten about after. You won’t be able to solve most of the many puzzles without scrolling back and forth, so this is really a basic mechanic that is used to the fullest. This is a Metroidvania, so it is all the more important to use this mechanic creatively. As with all games of this type, there are areas of the map that you cannot touch without the appropriate skills. What sets this game apart from other titles of this genre is that the amount of traceability required to do something is mitigated by skillfully placed teleportation stones. They also have a very convenient map that is updated over time, so you can easily remember the areas that you have not yet had access to.
Unbound: Worlds Apart looks a lot like a game for children. The Animation is cute and for the most part colorful. However, The appearance can certainly deceive. The demons you will experience in Unbound, for lack of a better word, are revolting. These bad guys were enough to scare me, a grown mature. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a bloody game or a full jumping game (although a huge Mutant centipede bursting out of nowhere and trying to eat you is enough for someone to fill their pants), but there are enough aesthetics that you seriously think twice about giving this game to boys.
In addition to the point I just made, you can expect toPass away a lot. Unbound: Worlds Apart is a game of trial and error. Each area of the map looks like a separate puzzle that needs to be solved, and many of them will require several attempts (and passed away) before they can be overcome. Of course, it should be borne in mind that some of these puzzles will be impossible on the first attempt, as they will lead to areas that will only be accessible after in the game. All this is true to form for a good Metroidvania, so everything is fine there. On top of all this, you only get one life. Don’t expect a health bar or multiple attempts; passed away means passed away. The plus side of this, however, is that they are helpfully rejected right before you’ve done something silly, so there’s not the monotonous level of following up on things you’ve already done before you can try again.