The days have long gone since you could describe a title as being “good for an arcade game” and “a nice wee puzzle game” hasn’t cut it since the day Braid was released. We expect a lot more for our Microsoft points nowadays. You can blame the iPhone for that. Anything over 59 pence is now considered a major purchase and gamers want to be in turn enthralled, enchanted, moved, fulfilled and rewarded, even if they’ve only forked out a couple of quid. Somehow you just know before you take a step in ilomilo that you’re going to feel all those feelings. I can’t say whether it’s the ultra cute characters, the highly original level designs and artwork, the cosy simplistic musical rhythms or the adorable story but it would take a heart of stone not to want to bring little ilo and milo together on each and every level of this game so they can have their lunch together in the park that changes shape every day.
This isn’t a platformer although it may look like it at first. Ilo and Milo move around on a grid until they meet, do their wee dance and then it’s on to the next level. It has more in common with spatial puzzlers like Braid, Echochrome and… well I can’t think of another one. It’s a pretty sparsely populated genre. You can switch between the two characters at will, moving them along the twisting ever changing grid. There are blocks to carry, extend, use as launch pads, buttons, and elevators. As you progress new elements are introduced and within half an hour of playing you can find yourself just staring as the screen saying “If I went over… no that won’t work. I could put this here and then… no, that’s not it. If I flip on to the other side using the… no I can’t get to that.” It’s rarely in your attempt to meet your little friend that you’ll be stuck, though. That part is usually pretty simple. Which of us, though, could bring ourselves to complete the level without collecting the photographs, records, flowers and safkas dotted around in hard to reach locations? If you can complete all the levels you unlock a few extra bonus ones, too. There are four chapters with a maximum of 12 possible levels in each and another two chapters on the way as DLC. You can rapidly make your way through the first two chapters but your rate of progress will slow as each level gets increasingly harder.
The difficulty curve is what I’d describe as steep but fair. When it takes an age to work out the solution to reaching a particular area you’ll almost always feel a fool for not spotting it sooner, so you don’t get annoyed with it. The cuteness factor is never saccharine but its jolly and gentle nature does soothe you, helping to stave off any aggravation at not progressing as fast as you’d like to. The music, although quite pleasant at first, is on too short a loop and after a while sounds like it’s taunting you with a sort of “The answer is obvious, you ‘tard” refrain.
This is a genuinely wonderful game and I mean that. It’s filled with wonder. It is, if you don’t mind me using a bit of a fruity term, delightful. 800 MS points of loveliness is sitting on your dashboard. Go buy.
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