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Gift Review: Simple Yet Heartwarming Platforming Fun
Platform: PC (Steam)
Genre: Puzzle Platformer, Atmospheric, Side Scroller
Platformers are just not my thing. But this one, Gift; this one was truly enjoyable.
In a world full of pretty damn tough platformers, I’m glad Gift is simple for us little newbies out here. When I say simple, I don’t mean easy. Don’t get me wrong, it has its tough parts, but it focuses more on introducing new kinds of mechanics rather than making the game too darn hard.
Developed by Toydium and Million Edge, this puzzle action platformer is about a man getting on a luxury ship cruise. Something unfortunate happens and the ship begins to sink. Your task? Escape the sinking ship! Don’t worry, along the way you have nostalgic moments about the other passengers.
The ship has 3 levels you have to go through to reach the top of the surface. When you start, the game teaches you the controls clearly. In all honesty, the first level is rather simple, so you have the basic controls and a rather straightforward platforming game. At first.
See, all 3 levels in the game play a bit differently, with each of them adding new elements and mechanics to challenge you. I love how some places or some platforms seem weird at first, but sometimes the ship will move and tilt, making new areas accessible! With each level you go through, you’ll find that the puzzles in Gift will test your gamer instincts. You’ll find yourself running for your life at times when a flood happens, it’s time-based and it sounds easy, but they keep you on your toes by throwing random mechanics at you! You don’t face any form of enemies on the first level, which is nice, so you only need to worry about the platforming part.
The next few levels, well, I won’t spoil much but the enemies certainly make your playthrough even more creative. Like most modern and sensible platformers, death has no penalty, thank goodness! You respawn right back at your last ‘save point’ which is when you see the game is saving. Auto-save happens quite often so don’t worry.
If you are wondering if you can drown, well yes, you can! But it does take quite a while before you can actually drown. You will have to go underwater sometimes to find certain collectibles or get to another area. I’d say the game is quite keen on you exploring around, and there are multiple items for you to scavenge and add to your collection. I love the little floaty animation your character does, or even when you dive. The controls are rather fluent for all the moves you do. The only thing I disliked was one of the controls for jumping from one wall to another. It felt a bit clunky but maybe it’s a skill issue and I’m bad.
Some of the objects are destructible, and I love that they make it easier to notice which one as it’s all painted in red! You do get a big bonky hammer to whack them out of your way. What about all the other characters on the ship? Well, you will meet some of them who are trapped. Solve puzzles to help them on their way, or just offer a bit of support to help ease their troubles. Each character is unique and charming in their own way. Some of them even make me smile at how adorable the cutscenes are. It’s wholesome and precious.
As soon as you enter the world of Gift, you’ll notice its spectacular hand-painted artwork. Even in the little splashes of water. It all creates a dreamy atmosphere that honestly helps with the immersion of the game. The atmospheric lighting is done so well Meanwhile, the sound is rather simple, with echo-y noises that really gets you immersed. I love the simplicity. Not over the top, with little nonsensical voices from the characters, it all comes together very well.
All in all, Gift is visually and mechanically simple, but it is a surprisingly enjoyable platformer with plenty to offer. In its true Indie fashion, the game offers an amazing quality in the gameplay it offers. The platforming and puzzles presented by the game are more than what they seem, simple and beginner-friendly rather than a game that is too difficult to enjoy. You’ll honestly come to love the protagonist and the cast of characters you encounter on your grand quest to the surface above.
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