Topic: Typoman (Wii U eShop) Review Mini

[Halbred]

I hope you like word jumbles.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/reviewmini/41669/typoman-wii-u-eshop-review-mini

There’s a certain appeal to Typoman, a newish eShop game that combines wordplay with platforming. Rather than hit a switch or find a key, the game’s protagonist, named HERO, rearranges letters to do the dirty work. Put together the word LIFT to move a platform upwards, or SLOW to give yourself more time to dash under a crushing press.  Erect a bubble of protective LIGHT to move through a dangerous subterranean area. You can use the Gamepad (as long as HERO is pressing letters together) to rearrange letters very quickly, and tap a “?” button for hints as to what word you’re aiming for.

The problem is that none of this ever feels particularly organic, especially once Typoman starts throwing letter-producing machines at you, and the concept becomes much more “do-it-yourself.” At that point, if you didn’t start the game with a high tolerance for word games, your opinion of them will plummet.

The game looks gorgeous, a little like Limbo but in color. The environments are very pretty, if a little bleak, and the character designs—as few as there are—present unique outlines that are, themselves, made up of letters. Interestingly, there is virtually no music, only ambient noise. I liked this, as it boosts Typoman’s wonderful sense of atmosphere.

The game’s real stumbling block, however, is in the core platforming. The physics never feel exactly right. Jumping between platforms seems to have an edge of randomness, which is never good. Anytime you have to escape an enemy or—in the aforementioned underground area—combine puzzling, platforming, and escape, Typoman falls flat on its face. It’s only through sheer force of will and seemingly random miracles of the physics engine that I was able to get through some of these areas at all.

The platforming is also fraught with bugs: HERO can become easily stuck on letters that he’s supposed to be manipulating, running in place forever, forcing a restart. This would be less of a problem if load times weren’t as brutally long as they are. Once you’re in the game, it’s fine, but starting the game (or restarting, as the case may be) triggers a load screen so unending that I often wondered if Typoman had simply hard-locked.

Typoman is a gorgeous game with a lot of half-baked ideas (and physics) and, frankly, deserves better. As it exists, the game is not worth recommending.

[ejamer]

This review makes me sad.


I love the concept, and still think that Typoman has a ton of potential. But the negative comments here strongly echo what I experienced from the demo. Yes - it sounds like there were improvements made since that time, but based on this review the core platforming and physics engine still need more work.


Which is a shame. I think developers who do something interesting deserve to be rewarded... and this definitely falls into that category. But at the same time, I'm not keen on buying games where controls cause more frustration than fun when playing.

[Lemonade]

I liked the demo they released at E3. But Im not sure I liked it enough to buy the full game.