TENSEI Review

Sometimes, we just want to empty our minds, partaking in a repetitive experience without reason. In the real world, think of it as throwing a tennis ball on a wall, catching it, throwing it, repeating. Or playing with a fidget spinner, keeping the demons at bay. 

There are some games which offer similar too. It’s here where TENSEI hopes to add its penny into the mix, with an endless game that you can dip into every now and then.

There is no narrative or story to TENSEI, except for that created by your own imagination and what you interpret of the world. 

You start the game in a zen-like garden with water around you, a lovely tree, and a wooden bridge. But you also see that beyond this little garden is nothing; it’s suspended in the air, a void below. You play a little black ball of energy that appears out of nowhere. left to be guided upwards, through levels and various rocky outcrops, all for as long as you can.

If you fall into the abyss or into some horrible bad energy monsters then the game is over, you get a score and you start again from the beginning. 

It’s quite tricky to explain TENSEI, but I’ll give it a go. Just be sure that as you dive in to play, it will all begin to make complete sense. You can control your little dark ball of energy by moving, jumping between rocks. You can action a triple jump in the air to try and get onto the next rock, but some of those landing places are populated by red blobs of matter on them. If you land on these, you will die. But if you jump above them and press the B button you can pull off a smash attack which will destroy them, providing a further boost into the air.  

That’s lucky because getting higher and higher is the goal in each playthrough. As you go up you can go through wind rings which will boost you along, and then you can also make the most of a Dragon mode, turning into a dragon and heading upwards for a short time period. These extra elements contained in the TENSEI gameplay give it a nice variety. And all you need to worry about is going up, and keeping away from falling into the nothing below.  

TENSEI comes with a very nice monochrome vibe to it, complemented with hints of red in the corrupted areas. It feels hand-drawn, like it has been crafted via a 2B pencil. And there are some lovely moments that play out too, as you jump, soar and occasionally turn into a frog or eagle for a brief moment. The music is very zen-like too, fitting perfectly with the gameplay.

TENSEI is a game that you can dip in and out of at will, perhaps for just five minutes at a time, climbing higher with every effort. If you’re looking for a story or goal, then this is not the gaming experience for you, but for some calming action at a super cheap price, it’s well worth a punt.