Code provided with many thanks to NeoBird
Reinventing the 2D Wheel
It never ceases to amaze me how developers are still able to take the concept of a 2D platform game and come up with new ideas to bring something entertaining and fresh to the genre. Who needs 3D right? This brings us to another Early Impressions article where we were kindly given a preview build of the upcoming platformer World Splitter.
Captain Carrots
You play as a bunny fella (who we’ll just name Captain Carrots). He looks a bit like Bucky O’Hare but with a gas mask on (if you’re old you’ll get this reference). After crash landing on a weird planet, weird fuzzy creatures have stolen the parts of your ship. It’s up to Captain Carrots to get them back by collecting the critters and maybe… eating them for dinner? I don’t know, the preview build is a little light on the story at this stage but the main feature here is the unique spin on the 2D platformer.
Two Worlds
Every level of World Splitter has two different layouts overlaid on top of each other. As well as moving and jumping Captain Carrots about you also have control of a line or rift which allows you to view these two layouts. As you move this line you notice different platform placements as well as hazards and the fuzzy monsters to collect. Captain Carrots can move easily between the two levels via the rift but can only interact with the layout he is placed in.
Mastering the use of the line and placing the Captain in the correct place so you can access higher platforms and areas at the right time is key. There are also levels with levers to pull and enemies to avoid. The difficulty feels quite mild making this an ideal game for those looking for a casual gaming experience. Most of the levels I played felt like there were multiple ways to solve the levels through simple experimentation of the mechanics. The use of the line is a fun mechanic to use and I kinda hope when it comes to Switch you can control this with touch controls. But I guess we’ll see.
Pretty Colours and Sounds
The game is presented with a colourful paper-like graphical style. Each of the worlds has a different colour palette to it and there is some nice attention to detail to the environments. In one world you can see the wind carelessly blowing and in the other the bubbles rising from various coloured water pools. There’s something quite therapeutic about scanning the line across and viewing the different layouts in each level. It feels like viewing day and night except for the skies in this world are often different colours. While you’re solving the levels a nice chilled score plays to keep any mild stresses from the gameplay at bay.
More to Come
The preview I played really only scratched the surface of this title. At this stage, it feels like a nice casual experience ideal for those looking to scratch that puzzle platform itch. The final build is advertised to offer over 10 hours of gameplay including 60 levels set across 6 worlds. As well as this the game will also feature 2 player co-op missions which this game seems very nicely suited to.
World Splitter is looking to launch on all platforms including Nintendo Switch later this year.