Title: Tani Nani
Genre: 2D, Puzzle
System: Nintendo Switch (also on PC and IOS)
Developer|Publisher: WhyKev
Age Rating: EU 3+ | US Everyone
Price: UK £4.49 | EU 4.99 | AU $7.50 | CA $6.60 | US $4.99
Release Date: 22nd April 2020
Review code provided with many thanks to WhyKev Games
Brain Power
There’s a sizable audience in gaming that doesn’t always want to kill things but instead use their brains to solve mind bending puzzles. Some gamers just need a game that brings a ray of sunshine into their lives and reminds them of happy things. For example, lambs, fresh cut grass or maybe a hug from a friend. Tani Nani is a cute 2D puzzler that will require you to use your brain but will mostly likely evoke good feelings of warmth and fuzziness. Something I think we could all do with now and then.

We’ll Meet Again
In the game your goal is to to help Tani and Nani meet. You play as the higher being of this world and you are able to move parts of the level around in order to help the pair find each other. The game employs this stop start mechanic and when all the pieces connect Tani and Nani are in constant motion. You can pause the action at anytime and move things around in order to find the solution, almost like a live jigsaw. Tani and Nani will move across platforms or fall. The game offers a grid button which I found particularly useful, as it helps you see precisely how the platforms connect and where your characters are on those platforms. It took me a short period of time to get used to pressing the right button to select a tile and to swap it with another. Leading me to accidentally let Tani or Nani fall into oblivion a few times. Not something I recommend as a speech bubble with a sad face appears along with a cute noise as they plunge off the screen. The switch version doesn’t employ touch controls in handheld mode which seemed a little odd.

Find Your Path
There are multiple ways to complete each level so there is no pressure to get things 100% correct. I often found experimentation was the key. Placing tiles in the right place at the right time lead to some creative solutions. It was particularly rewarding when I got the characters to meet when one was falling from one angle and the other character falling 90 degrees to them. There are 10 chapters containing 12 levels a piece, so there’s a lot of content here for a game on a budget price. It took me over 10 hours to finish and I didn’t even 100% everything.

As you progress through the chapters the game throws new puzzle elements and challenges at you. When Tani and Nani started walking upside down or up and down platforms my head really did start to spin. After a sit down and a big think I started to get used to it, then the game would throw another new mechanic at me like buttons and switches. It kept the game engaging and my mental capacity was certainly tested.

Grab a Gem
In order to progress to other chapters you will need to collect the gems in the levels. So the game expands to getting Tani or Nani to collect the gem and then make them meet. I often hit the gaming brick wall, as I had casually worked my way through the levels getting Tani and Nani to simply meet only to be blocked from progressing because I had failed to collect enough gems. I think I would have preferred it if level progression wasn’t tied to gem collecting but it wasn’t a deal breaker for the game. It just meant I had to repeat levels a lot and use my brain more.

As an added challenge, the game also contains optional objectives such as completing the level in a limited number of moves or the characters not falling for too long. Completing these tough objectives unlocks new cosmetics for Tani or Nani. The difficulty of the challenges varied greatly. Sometimes the stars just seemed to align for me and I managed to collect the gem finish the additional objective and get Tani and Nani together with some ease. The repeatability is returning to previous levels to complete the optional objective and collect all the gems.

Time to Think
The game does ask you to think a lot and experiment with varied solutions. For some gamers that may cause some frustration. I found the best way to enjoy the game was in small bursts in handheld mode. Complete a few levels and once I hit my mental capacity take a break and return later. The levels can take mere minutes to finish making this a great experience to dip in and out of.

Cute and Cuddly
The graphics are, quite frankly, very cute. I mean the front cover of this game is two marshmallow creatures happy together in a smiling embrace. Each chapter has a different theme. The music is a bit of a disappointment, sounding more like simple beeps and boops and not as mellow and chilled as I was expecting for a puzzle game. I often opted to have something else on in the background. I did love the simple sound effect the game makes when your characters meet and a little heart appears above them. It always brought a satisfying smile to my face.
Love Wins
Tani Nani is a easy recommendation to the puzzler fan. There’s plenty of content here for the price of entry. Do keep in mind brain power is required. So if your looking for a game to switch off from the world for a while this may not be ideal.

There is something kinda special about a game whose goal is to help two lost souls meet. I saw Tani and Nani like my mind wandering away from my body. Sometimes my mind wanders off and I make myself incredibly sad and it can take a great amount of effort to find your way back. The route is not easy. You have to think. Maybe fail, many times. But you can make it and come back to your body. Then a metaphorical heart hovers over your head reminding you of the importance of loving yourself. Oh yeah, also, this game is pretty good too.
Final Verdict: I like it a lot