To stand out in the puzzle platforming genre any new title needs a killer USP. Shiftlings, the latest platformer to grace the halls of the Xbox One Games Store has just that…a simple air hose!
Sierra and indie devs Rock Pocket Games want to take you on a journey to the other side of the galaxy, in order to help two rather hapless space engineers navigate their way through numerous levels of puzzle solving, all in order to please the viewers of the strangest intergalactic TV show.
Hosted by Zookod Neutrino, a loud mouthed slightly humorous presenter, our dim witted pair need to go about their maintenance work to the best of their ability in order to appease both the shows presenter and the viewing alien public. But each world that the engineers visit is filled with puzzles that need to be overcome before they can move on to the next.
And this is where Shiftlings comes into its own.
For our pair of heroic space journeymen are tied together with a single, fixed length, gas filled air hose which means that at any point in time, one of them will be inflated far and beyond their normal size. This in turn restricts their movement, allowing them to jump very short distances and walk at a slower pace, leaving the majority of the hard work – the lever pulling and platform jumping – to his colleague. Additionally, in order to reach usually out of reach platforms, a quick bounce on the inflated guy will see the standard character fly high. However, a single press of your controller button will see the gas move back and forth between the two in an instant, so once one of the janitors has made his way to a prime tactical spot, a quick switch of the gas will allow his friend to hopefully join him. If that seems straight-forward enough, then the inclusion of large buttons that only the inflated guy can push and the need to occasionally ‘drag’ the uninflated one around means that your puzzle skills will be tested.
At least that is to a certain extent. Whilst I haven’t quite unlocked the full galaxy, the vast majority of levels that are present have been relatively easy affairs, as long as you sit down for a couple of minutes to try and work through them methodically. There can be, in my eyes, nothing worse than a puzzler that makes you need to perform an action for very little rhyme or reason and thankfully everything included in Shiftlings can be figured out beforehand with a bit of forward thinking, making complete sense at all times. Cleverly placed checkpoints also ensure that when you do go slightly wrong (and you will need to experiment at times), and the worst happens – your air hose breaks – then you won’t need to go back spending too much time doing the same old stuff over and over again.
Bright and colourful with clear crisp visuals, Shiftlings incorporates pretty clear flowing movement that aside from the odd dodgy jump, can’t really be faulted. In fact, if something in your puzzle solving does go wrong, then 99/100 times it’ll be down to your own lack of skills…perhaps feeling under pressure from the constant egging on from the show presenter. It must however be said that due to the constant flipping back and forth between the characters, trying to ensure you’re controlling the correct one for the job in hand can, in the solo player mode, get a little confusing. The slow paced stop-start nature isn’t ideal and means that single players may find things occasionally irritating.
That changes completely however when you team up with a local friend on the same console or via the online multiplayer rooms. Whilst not fully drop-in/drop-out, a friend or stranger can request to join your game at any point. It will push you back to the start of that level and so whether you decide to jump back is completely up to you, but the addition of a second head can help you get through the slightly harder puzzles that little bit easier. Of course, it’s not all that straightforward though as when teaming up, you’ll need the very best of communication skills in order to succeed, as a stray jump or movement at the wrong time could easily see the two alien contestants flying off into deep space, never to be seen again. Thankfully, even when joined with an online friend, lag is non-existent with smooth gameplay throughout and it is here that Shiftlings really excels.
Get teamed up with a stranger who refuses to talk however and you may as well just quit out there and then for not only will you become frustrated but chances are you’ll never even complete a single level, probably because you’ll find yourselves both trying to inflate characters at the same time! Communication is key.
With over 50 levels and three collectible Black Hola Cola bottles to search out on each of them, Shiftlings isn’t something that will be fully completed in a weekend. Indeed, include the superbly worked co-op modes and the option to go back through in time trial mode, and you’ll find many hours of gameplay ahead of you.
You won’t have played anything like Shiftlings and thanks to its unique selling proposition, if you’re a fan of either puzzlers or platforming, it should be something to check out.
