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I know this level design isn’t going to mesh with a lot of people, but I really like about 90% of the stages in this game. That sounds like gatekeeping, but it was mostly a non-issue for me. Collecting those statues is the real goal for every level as you need to have a certain number of them in your possession to unlock more stages.

#Balan wonderworld controls how to#

And each level has several golden Balan statues to collect, with some that hide in plain sight with no clear indication on how to reach them. We’re talking about very tightly packaged, linear stages with small, off-the-beaten-path areas to explore. It’s the type of level design where a risky jump into the unknown can send you to your death or reward you with a new power-up you wouldn’t have otherwise been able to get. I think most people’s enjoyment of this game is going to depend on their appreciation for the level design concepts of early 3D platformers. For each of them, Emma or Leo will venture through two levels that are kind of themed around their personalities before heading into a boss battle the anthropomorphizes the struggle they’re having. There are a dozen people in total to help and their issues range from dealing with a dead cat to feeling invisible to one very bad dolphin. They thrust the two of them into an adventure where they’ll help other people with their problems. The game tells the story of two loners, Emma and Leo, who are pulled into a mysterious theater by the even more mysterious Balan. Because while much of this title pulls at the parts of the brain that control nostalgia, some elements are stark reminders of just how far the medium has come.

It feels like Yuji Naka and his team at Balan Company have ignored the past 25 years of progress made in game development. Retro games are as big now as they’ve ever been, and we’re still getting Kickstarters for “spiritual successors” to those titles we deeply adored as kids.īut Balan Wonderworld doesn’t just feel old. If you were to tell me Balan Wonderworld was actually an HD remake of some 1997 Sega Saturn title, I’d probably believe you because from top to bottom, this feels like something I played back when I was 13 years old.Īnd hey, there is nothing wrong with feeling a bit old. It’s an artifact of the mid to late ‘90s, calling back to the golden era of the mascot platformer, a brief period when developers blessed the world with weird and experimental platform games like Bug or Croc: Legend of the Gobbos. This is a new game that feels very, very old. If I were to sum up Balan Wonderworld in a single word, that word would be antiquated.

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In fact, there’s a good chance you’ll actually end up hating it a whole lot more.īalan Wonderworld (PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X) However, if you hated that demo - and I know a lot of people did - nothing here is going to change your opinion of it. Balan Wonderworld did indeed save its best levels, costumes, and ideas for the final game.

#Balan wonderworld controls full#

Now that I’ve played through the full game, I’m happy to say that I was right. That statement wasn’t really supported by any concrete evidence, it was more wishful thinking based on my memories of the wonderfully imaginative reveal trailer from last summer. More costume changes than a Lady Gaga concertīack in January, I wrote up an impressions piece for my hands-on with the Balan Wonderworld demo, saying it was saving its best bits for the final game.