Game review: Öoo by NamaTakahashi

Having seen recommendations on Bluesky for this game I started by playing the demo on itch.io and quickly knew that I would have to play this game in full.

I only very recently started playing 2D platformers; at least since becoming an adult. My reintroduction last year was playing The End of Gameplay by droqen, and HollowKnight by Team Cherry and then subsequently platformers like Barbuta in UFO 50 by Mossmouth and friends.

However unlike these skill-based games this is very forgiving - this is a thinky game with many save points and no run backs. I completed it in less than four hours.

I'm impressed by how the game does with so little. There is a single mechanic which is spawning and exploding bombs. You can't even jump. Like UFO 50 games, the control scheme is four directions and two buttons. But you slowly learn that you can do so much with what was always there.

Often a level ends with a dead end, forcing you to go back and explore an area that you could have traversed previously but didn't know how. Even the title of the game is something I came to understand as the game progressed. I'll be interested to see how fast speed runs can get because of this.

The applications of this one mechanic are carefuly taught to you level by level. Sometimes there is a slightly more difficult 'boss' puzzle to at the end of a level - I had to use the official walkthrough on YouTube at a couple of points. The level design shines through in this game. It reminds me of Robert Yang's recent post about the level design in Big Hops.

The art by hachinos is lovely. The puzzles are made up of a roster of "characters". Every puzzle element you interact with has a face which makes the game incredibly cute. And yet each level has the feeling of a 'biome', so it still feels varied as the game progresses. The animations especially are adorable.

The music by tsuyomi is also extremely cute. Much like the gameplay, the core element of the music is a consistent motif throughout the game which explores different ideas as you progress.

Listed as inspirations in the credits are Bomb Chicken and BoxBoy!; having researched them briefly I can see the connection. Celeste is also listed, which should probably be the next game I play.

I also learned in the credits that the game was made in GameMaker. I have personally tried and failed to make a game in GameMaker because I gave in to the urge to build my own framework. I believe that this game and other famous titles prove that what's important is not the framework but being able to see a good idea through to the end. Bravo!

I'm looking forward to watching some interviews with the makers to learn more about their process. The game has already been nominated for an award, results will be announced next week!

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