Originally released on PC via Steam in August 2019, and on consoles last November, Backpack Twins is now also available on Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4 And Xbox One to challenge us with its intricate levels. The title is a single-player puzzle platformer, characterized by a high difficulty that will push the players (more patients) to seek from time to time the right approach to solve the various game frameworks. In Backpack Twins we will control both the twin protagonists of the title, switching from one to the other with extreme ease in order to make them work together to solve the numerous environmental puzzles.
We’ve avoided dangers, jumped every treacherous trap, changed course over and over again, just to bring you our review here today! Find out with us if the twins were up to the proposed challenge.
- Title: Backpack Twins
- Platform: Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
- Analyzed version: Nintendo Switch (EU)
- Type: Platformer, Puzzle
- Players: 1
- Publisher: Ima Bryn
- Developer: Ima Bryn
- Tongue: Italian (texts)
- Exit date: January 4, 2023
- Availability: digital delivery
- DLCs: nobody
- Note: already available on Steam since 2019
We reviewed Backpack Twins with a Nintendo Switch code provided to us for free by AMATA KK
While exploring a dangerous cave, twins suddenly find themselves victims of a deadly game that pushes them to find the right synchronicity in order to survive. Will they have succeeded?
Who finds a brother…
More than a real captivating plot, Backpack Twins focuses entirely on the playful aspect of the gameplay, adorned with one retro graphic style which knows how to prove itself the joy of the most nostalgic. The little basic plot is punctuated by the sporadic lines of dialogue exchanged by the protagonists in some levels, useful for further highlighting how the bond between the two slowly strengthens. Together they will travel to different worlds and numerous levels, from mountains full of incandescent lava to old castles equipped with traps everywhere. Among them the levels are very similar in terms of graphicswith slight variations only on the pattern of the textures used to represent the various surfaces that can be crossed in the numerous game frames.
In addition to the two protagonists we will also get to know a mysterious and disturbing voice-over, which in addition to talking to the twins, will break the fourth wall over and over again, also giving a slight touch of hilarity to the overall work. In fact, there will be jokes, references to the fact that we are inside a video game, or simple digs that will be addressed to the protagonists as much as to the player.
…Find a treasure
As far as the gameplay is concerned, we are faced with a work that tends to recall the most distant simplicity that united the famous cabinet video games years ago. With the left stick (or the d-pad) we will move the selected protagonist, with ZL/ZR (or Y) we will switch from controlling one twin to the other, with b we will jump, with TO we will interact with people and objects, while with x we will kill our protagonists to regenerate them at the nearest checkpoint. The levels are in fact littered with flags (like Super Mario) that will act as convenient save points in case of death (and yes, we will die a lot), even if not all of them will be activated in the same way: in fact, some will require the presence of both twins to be activated, while some only need one. On many occasions, to pass the levels, we will also be called upon to use a very unique characteristic of our protagonists: climb on top of each other through the backpack and use each other as a human ladder, a mechanic that will prove to be the “salvation” on several occasions in case you find yourself stuck. The passage that will instead be placed at the end of each level will be passable only if reached by both protagonists.
The goal of each level, as it is easy to imagine, is to reach the exit, even if there is something between saying and doing… a spike trap. Each level will be filled with numerous traps like spikes, flying axes, lava, collapsing floors, and much more that we’ll let you discover if you’re brave enough to try. The only weapon at your disposal will be your patience and your acumen, as all the game frameworks, from the simplest to the most complex, will be nothing more than huge puzzles that can be solved with a few simple moves. Whether we’re talking about the sequential activation of certain bridges or a quick escape from the lava, nothing will be impossible if approached with the right logic. Everything will also get complicated if you want to recover all the collectibles present in each level, forcing you to change your previously conceived path in order to obtain the much coveted “2/2” or “3/3” when you see all the objects collected .
At the top of each level there will be a counter of deaths, collectibles collected and the time taken to complete the level. This mechanic will certainly push the most hardcore among you to want to get the best score from time to time, also greatly increasing the longevity of the title, which in itself (especially if faced with obsessive attention to trophies) will hardly exceed ten hours.
An old fashioned backpack
What most strikes the gamer, beyond the difficulty, is certainly the graphic style used for the entire work. In fact, the game seems to have come out of an old arcade cabinet, and if this can certainly be a value for the more nostalgic, it can also be a double-edged sword for the less accustomed to this style. In fact, using this graphic style leads the title to suffer from enormous redundancy in the levels of the same settings, offering a breath of fresh air only when the map is completely changed. The decision to create a more modern scrolling platformer would have been much more appreciated, then leaving the player with the choice of setting a more nostalgic graphics mode such as the 8-bit one.
Instead, to be more intriguing we find the soundtrack that accompanies the various levels, which, however suggestive, will also be an accomplice to a greater loss of patience. Always hearing the same three notes repeated ad infinitum when facing the same level and trying not to die… I’m sure it will lead many players (like yours truly) to totally mute the volume when trying to overcome a particularly difficult portion of the picture . A bit like when you turn off the radio to park, basically it doesn’t affect you in a practical way, but it helps you concentrate better, especially if we always hear the same song on repeat without a moment’s break.
Who do we recommend Backpack Twins to?
Backpack Twins is a great title in case you are looking for a puzzle platformer with a nostalgic touch. Recommended for lovers of the genre as well as for the more daring looking for a game that can offer a good dose of challenge in terms of difficulty. Also recommended for all those looking for a quick game that can challenge them during a lunch break or who feel nostalgia for the old scrolling platformers. Strongly not recommended instead to all those looking for a relaxing game to distract themselves with or looking for a title characterized at least by a captivating plot.
- Fast and fun for quick matches
- Feeling of fulfillment for each level passed
- Perfect difficulty rate for those looking for a challenge based on reflexes and reflections…
- …But the absence of a real gradual difficulty leads it to be slightly prohibitive for those who don’t have much experience
- The dated style can heavily affect the overall experience
- Little difference between the various play areas
Backpack Twins
Level passed… but with difficulty
Backpack Twins it is certainly an excellent product, but one that failed to fully convince us. The mechanic of having to control two characters and having to think of both to solve the puzzles, also being careful not to die with any of them, is certainly fun and well executed, but we wouldn’t have minded being able to tackle the adventure even in two players. increasing the sensation of real intensification of the relationship. The game also catches the eye for its high difficulty and feeling of satisfaction when you overcome it, but a better balance of difficulty, with a greater stratification that would lead to a more gradual advancement, would have helped to make it a more accessible and less prohibitive for many players. Not to fully convince us even the price at which the work is available, which for the graphic level, style and longevity, we would have expected considerably lower.
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