As I’ve said in the past, many genres are defined by a single game. For most, Limbo became the definitive side-scrolling puzzle platformer. There were games that followed suit, and others that merely took inspiration from it, but none have really captured the magic that Playdead did with that title, unless you bring up their follow-up title Inside. But K Bros made a game that not only takes inspiration from Limbo, but isn’t afraid to do quite a few things differently.

Honestly, at first glance I figured Albert & Otto was going to be more of a rip-off than it ended up being. With a similar black and white aesthetic (albeit with a touch of red, reminiscent of Monochroma) and a silhouetted boy, I had a feeling I knew where this would go. But I was mistaken. This does a lot more than I anticipated from the little I saw prior to playing.

The game starts by showing a girl that disappears in a flash, and you’re left in her stead. It’s up to you to figure out where she went, who she is, and how to save her. This game is actually the first episode in a series of four, and this particular entry follows Albert and Otto on their journey to Anna. Games in this genre often rely on environmental puzzles with very basic controls. A recent example of this is Planet of the Eyes. This does away with that idea, as you gain new abilities as you progress through the seven chapters of the game.

Starting out you’re able to do the normal actions you’d come to expect, but are soon introduced to your weapon, a double jump, and even telepathy. The latter two abilities are tied to Otto, who you’ll pick up early on in the game. Otto also serves as an essential part of puzzle solving, as you can place him on the ground to hold down pressure plates, flip switches that are out of reach for Albert, amongst other things. This is a refreshing change, and while none of the puzzles had me wondering what to do for longer than 30 seconds, it was nice not having to just look for something I might’ve passed up the first time I went through an area.

The game has collectibles for you to find in the form of pictures from Anna (the main story teller) as well as shards. The shards piece together a picture when you have them all, although you can probably figure it out long before you collect all 26. None of these are difficult to collect, although if you die you’ll likely want to verify you have it, because the game doesn’t save after collecting them in most cases.

The game also sports a couple of boss battles, with one being more conventional while the other is more time sensitive and obvious as to what you need to do. Chances are that these are the parts of the game where you’ll die your first time through, as the majority of the game is pretty simple. There aren’t any real chase scenes, nor are there any moments of true dread. While I would actually sit up and feel my hands tense up as a dog would chase me in Inside, I sat back and relaxed my whole time with this game, as the puzzles were all able to be solved with minor exploration and an understanding of the tools available. The one part that may suggest a chase is more or less triggered whenever you reach certain points in the level, which negates any tension.

Interestingly, one of the flaws in the game is something I probably wouldn’t have noticed if I didn’t die, as I realized that the game doesn’t always play out the same. It’s not that it’s meant to change, but sometimes the setup isn’t reset just right, or the physics are messed up. The first time I noticed this was during the first boss, when the boulder that was supposed to drop on his head went flying diagonally at me. It’s supposed to be propelled by gravity, and after I narrowly avoided it, the boss appeared to be stuck as if he acknowledged he should’ve taken a blow to the head. There are also a couple parts of the game that involve riding boxes over long stretches of water. At times these boxes didn’t allow Albert to stay on top of them, acting as if there was no friction, while at other times you can barely even walk across them and need to resort to jumping.

Other physics systems in the game, especially in regards to the telepathy, seem to be a bit unpolished. I enjoyed the use of the mechanics, but couldn’t help but feel they could use a bit more work. The game’s double jump is incorporated in place of the climbing mechanic you would typically see in games like this. As much as I loved having a double jump, I couldn’t help but feel this took away some of the suspense and challenge away from the platforming.

Albert & Otto takes the platforming puzzle genre in a fun direction while showing its inspiration on its sleeve. It’s not the best game you’ll play in the genre, but it’s a great setup for a much bigger story, and I can’t wait to see what lies in store for Albert, Otto, and Anna. The series has a lot of potential and is definitely worth a play through.

8 out of 10

Pros

• Surprising Amount of Abilities
• Bosses
• Intriguing Story

Cons

• Occasionally Wonky Physics
• Slightly Unpolished

Albert & Otto was developed by K Bros and published by Digerati Distribution. It launched on PC October 28th, 2015, and is out on PS4 and X1 January 16th, 2018. The game was provided to us for review on PS4. For more on Albert & Otto, check out the game’s Steam page.

 

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