'Ilomilo' a fun and cute puzzle game, will keep players engaged
When I was seven years old, my parents bought a cuddly puppy as our new family pet. The only problem was that this puppy liked to destroy everything I loved about my childhood: my Mighty Max toys, G.I. Joes and even my Creepy Crawlers oven. Seriously, the entire oven.
Fast forward 17 years later.
My experience playing the Xbox Live Arcade puzzler known as “Ilomilo” is strikingly similar. This game is cute, fun and almost as psychologically exhausting.
Online puzzle game
4/5
You control one character at a time, toggling back and forth between the two, while traversing the cube worlds that make up each puzzle in hopes of uniting the pair.
The fewer cubes you traverse to solve a puzzle, the better your score, which is instantly submitted to online leaderboards.
Some cubes can be manipulated, allowing you to bridge previously inaccessible gaps and overcome obstacles. Different cubes have different effects: Some extend the length of multiple cubes, some act as trap doors and some simply act as a single, movable cube.
The main single-player campaign is divided into four separate chapters, each containing 12 bizarre levels, so there’s plenty of game here for 800 Microsoft Points, or $10.
All levels have collectibles to be found and collecting certain items will unlock three bonus levels per chapter, which are typically more challenging compared to the others in the chapter.
While not initially difficult, “Ilomilo” does a great job of preparing players for the game’s increasingly complex level design. Most levels can be completed in three minutes or less, but some will leave you stumped.
Don’t worry though – most puzzles will not stump players for too long, and a lot of the solutions are painfully obvious once uncovered..
The light-hearted characters, dialogue and music in the game mesh well and provide a genuinely fun and likable experience.
Despite an occasionally frustrating camera and some touchy directional control issues, “Ilomilo” is a unique experience that is easy to fall in love with.
From the silly level completion dance that Ilo and Milo perform to the musings of a unique character named Sebastion (who often brags about his oily biceps), there is a lot to like in this adorable package.
