Unlike Ori and other games of the same genre, the world is not littered with pickups to restore health or upgrade abilities. Perhaps even more surprising, however, the game doesn’t really suffer because of it. But is there anything else going on in this game besides that to keep you entertained? In fact, there is surprising little. I grew to eagerly anticipate exploring new areas on the map, knowing that it wouldn’t be long before I got to experiment with a new portal mechanic. Just when you feel like you’ve mastered one, it is taken away and replaced with something else. There is a massive amount of variety that these relatively simple tweaks to the environment introduce to the gameplay. But the portals can also affect Soli by inverting gravity, shrinking your size or turning you into a heavy, stone block. Or transforming a terrifying flying monster into a cute little butterfly. For one, they might affect some external feature, like turning a flaming projectile into a safe platform. What really sets this game apart however is the portal opening mechanic, which you gain right at the beginning of the game.ĭepending on where you are, portals behave a little differently. It’s just as well then that the controls are responsive and behave just how you would expect them to. Which is impressive given that there are several bosses, and other creatures, which must be despatched in order to progress. At no point do you ever learn a traditional attack. The movement mechanics are as basic as they come in Unbound: Worlds Apart. Much later on into the game, you do gain the ability to double jump, cling to walls, dash, then double dash. When Unbound begins, Soli has the ability to jump. When Soli opened a portal to Australia he had an entirely different view of the world. As I said, its not a brilliant story, but never mind. Nine times out of ten that theme will be “go to these points on your map, collect these crystals (or activate these totems), and return. These are essentially variations on a theme. On your way towards the final confrontation with the big bad, you’ll be tasked with a number of objectives. It’s then up to you, the novice that just learned how to open up portals, to fight your way through a hellish landscape of spikes, lava and nightmare creatures, so that you might confront and defeat the demon lord that blew up your village. Shortly thereafter, you are given the ability to summon mystical portals that open windows into other realms. The reason for this is unclear and, I must admit, is still unclear to me even after finishing the game. You play as a young mage, called Soli, who’s village is attacked and destroyed by malevolent forces during the opening of the game. One that really sticks with you and makes you care about the characters involved. Indeed, I will probably bring up Ori several more times before this review of Unbound on the Switch is over. Anyone who has ever played either of the Ori games before will immediately recognise many similarities with Unbound. In my humble opinion, the story is certainly the weakest aspect of the entire game. There’s nothing more special than the bond between a wizard and his pet blue dog. Now there is something resembling a story somewhere On the other hand, if you are willing to stretch the limits of your sanity to breaking point, then you will undoubtedly love this clever little platformer which feels right at home on the Switch. If this sounds like the kind of torture you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy then you will probably not enjoy this game. Take a little break and come back refreshed, ready to go through it all again in the vain hope that this time, will be different. It’s times like this that you have to dig deep. But there were times when I had to scream into a pillow with frustration after falling into a pit of spikes, for the hundredth time that hour. Sure I can say that now: I’ve finished the game. Until finally you accomplish what at first glance seemed to be impossible. In my experience there’s nothing better than repeating the same ridiculously difficult manoeuvre over and over, getting just a little better each time. Find out if that’s the case in my review of Unbound for the Switch. Introducing: Unbound Worlds Apart Review for Nintendo Switch
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