Nintendo Switch Review Code Provided by Secret Mode
It is one thing to get lost on a mission, but for the Soviet cosmonaut named Comrade Ivan Ivanovich, he found an adventure! Little Orpheus is a mobile game that was remastered by developers The Chinese Room and brought to all current major platforms by publisher Secret Mode. Bringing this little adventure and putting it on the big screen, players can now follow this little tale of adventure and wonder. It was definitely a good call because this game is quite the experience.
Story
Comrade Ivan Ivanovich is dropped into an extinct volcano in his exploration capsule, Little Orpheus, to explore the center of the earth where he promptly vanishes. Now, three years later, he emerges claiming to have saved the world! However, he did lose the atomic bomb that was powering Little Orpheus. So, he is taken to a top-secret bunker deep below the Ural mountains to be debriefed by the fearsome General Yurkovoi. Here he tells the General his unbelievable tale of what he experienced from his time at the center of the earth.
Gameplay
This game is essentially a side-scrolling platformer game with some puzzle elements in it. You will find yourself running to the right or left side of the screen while avoiding dangers and overcoming obstacles throughout it. You can also jump and crawl, which can be a slide if running when you begin crawling.
Each level will be a different area with a different general experience to it. For instance, the first level will be mainly just moving forward and climbing up obstacles with a chase sequence at the end. But the second level will have some stealth action in it as you hide from strange creatures who try to catch you. This progression of obstacles and challenges continues to grow with each episode with failing becoming more costly as you progress.
Other than the adventure itself, you will be able to find some hidden areas where you can find collectibles. Each episode has a number of collectibles to find and none of them are easy to spot. Make sure you really explore each level as you make your way through them or you may miss them.
Once a level is beaten, it will take you to the episode selection screen. This game was obviously developed one episode at a time and released accordingly, but from this selection screen, you can also see how many collectibles you have missed. When you get enough collectibles, you can also use this time in the menu to play with the different costumes you can unlock.
Visuals and Audio
Despite coming from a mobile game, this title has some in-depth graphics to it. The levels are well fleshed out with thorough backgrounds that really make it seem like you are within each zone. With activity going on in most backgrounds and plenty of environment to view in them, it makes the side-scrolling aspect feel like it would have a 2.5D aspect, which it doesn’t - unless you count that the screen sometimes turns to face forward and the path sometimes veers diagonally even though the movement itself is still directionally left or right on the controls.
Music in the game is subtle most of the time, but when it comes to moments they want to bring out, they do a good job with it. For the most part, the music was fittingly used during the beginning and ending of each episode as the announcer proclaims “what will happen next?!” to the player. Voice work is pretty solid too as the two characters seem to have actual emotion behind what they are saying.
Replayability
Other than trying to go back and get each collectible, all of the levels are pretty straightforward and there wouldn’t be much reason to go through them more than once.
What It Could Have Done Better
I was a bit surprised to see it actually pull me out of the game when changing to the next episode. This aspect really maintained the feeling of a mobile game for me as I would expect a console game to just roll into the next episode. Perhaps this was kept because of the way they end each episode, but they could have at least had an option pop up asking to start the next episode or go back to the menu instead of just forcing the player back to the menu.
Verdict
Little Orpheus is a fun little game that brings a quirky adventure for players to experience! It is definitely enjoyable to play through and has some comedic moments, especially in the way that the story is actually told between Comrade Ivan and the General. While I don’t see myself playing through it again, it was worth playing through as it is. Seeing how the gameplay isn’t challenging for the majority of the game, it is one I would recommend to all players looking for a fun little adventure through fantastical locations and a comedic story.
Little Orpheus is now available on PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. The original version of the game is still available on both iOS and Android as well.
