Where’s Samantha? Review

Game: Where’s Samantha?
Genre: Platformer, Puzzle
System: Steam (also on Nintendo Switch)
Developer|Publisher: Respect Studios | ROKiT Games
Age Rating: EU 3+ | US Everyone
Price:  US $3.99 | UK £6.99 | EU € 3,23
Release Date: March 25th, 2021

Review code provided with many thanks Vicarious PR

Gone in a Gust of Wind

Where’s Samantha? Is a warm fuzzy 2D platformer, quite literally. You play a piece of fabric called George who has been separated from his love Samantha by a gust of wind. Interesting what a light breeze can do.

Traverse several fabric filled levels of puzzle and warm fuzzy feelings to reunite with your love. If you are looking for a game suitable for the entire family with some light but enjoyable challenges. This might be the fuzzy adventure you are looking for.

Split Apart

The goal of the game is simply to reach the end of each level in one piece of fabric. Between each level, the story is narrated in the form of a storybook by a very enthusiastic narrator. You initially start as a single piece of fabric, George, but as you make your way through the level you can pick up balls of yarn that turn you into a bigger blue piece of fabric, which you can separate into two additional smaller red pieces of fabric. By separating you can solve puzzles by pushing blocks or flipping switches to open doors. You regularly need to fuse back together to enter specific coloured doors.

You can also gain another ball of yarn to expand to a purple piece of fabric, allowing you to split into three pieces of fabric, unlocking more puzzle opportunities. As you progress further the individual fabric pieces will split into different characters, like a rectangle that can double jump and one that can hover in the air. It gives additional variety to the puzzle gameplay. The levels themselves only usually last a minute or two so this is a game you can quite easily dip in and out of in short gaming sessions.

Pieces of Fabric

The entire world of the game is made of fabric. The style feels very reminiscent of Yoshi’s Wooly World on WiiU or Tearaway on Vita or PS4. The characters, environments and even the hazards feel like everyday household items that you could possibly recreate if you wanted to ignite that creative spark in the home.  Hazards include nails, combs and of course, because this is a 2D platformer, there is a version of a buzzsaw, or maybe it’s supposed to be a fan. Sorry, I’ve been so exposed to buzzsaws in games it’s hard to tell these days.

Even though you just play as a piece of fabric, the attention to detail with a cute little eyeball is likely to melt the hearts of any hardened gamer. There is also a suitably chill soundtrack that plays in the background as you make your way through the adventure.

Controls and Difficulty

Controls are simple to pick up and play for gamers of any experience. Simply move and jump and press a button to fuse or break apart. This is a game that will take you around 5 hours to finish. Throughout each level, there are several letters to collect and sometimes you can find a light bulb that dictates a humorous fact about the world. The game gives you plenty of excuses to smile. 

The general difficulty of the game is quite light but gradually builds as you progress, but never becomes stressful. If you hit a hazard or fall down a pit, you will explode instantly but checkpoints are very frequent. There was rarely a moment where I couldn’t figure out what to do. Most puzzles require some light experimentation to make it through. 

There are a few niggles to mention. The game does feel a little slow. Even though the levels are quite small I tended to only play a few levels at a time as the design felt a tad repetitive. An example of this is when you split into two or three pieces of fabric you usually have to repeat the same platform segments over and over which does feel tedious.  

Conclusion – Warm and Fuzzy Feels

Overall, Where’s Samatha?  is an enjoyable puzzle platformer for all audiences. It does feel a little slow at times and keeps things very casual. This feels like an ideal game to sit down and play with a child or young person with its storybook approach and cute appearance. But whatever age you are, this is a game that is designed to make you smile and possibly give warm fuzzy feelings. So buy this and enjoy it with a loved one. But if you don’t, go hug someone anyway because we could all use a warm fuzzy feeling. 

Final Verdict: I Like It