No matter how much further we progress into the world of video games, the puzzle game genre will always remain one of the most common genres in video games with many developers introducing new puzzle mechanics every day. World Splitter is one such puzzle game that has brought forward a brilliant new puzzle mechanic of switching between dimensions in a 2D platforming environment while using the classic twin-stick mechanics. Developed by BUMBLE3EE Interactive SL, World Splitter is a challenging puzzle game. This is our review of World Splitter on the PS4 in which we hop through some dimensions and try not to pull out our hair.
World Splitter features six unique worlds and each of the worlds has 10 levels in them. While sticking true to most puzzle game formulas, the game has multiple collectibles for you to collect while throwing in some more limitations for completionists. Your main goal is to reach the end of each level and you can do so at your will in whatever way you can by solving the puzzle however each level gives you three additional challenges to aim for as well. Each level has a different number of monsters hidden in each dimension that you can collect. Apart from this, there is a Time Attack Challenge and a Rotation Limit Challenge which is essentially a challenge requiring you to complete the level without switching between the dimensions too much.
That being said, the gameplay focuses on twin-stick action where the left stick moves your character around and the right stick allows you to rotate and change the dimension you are currently seeing. Your character can seamlessly move between the two dimensions without any trouble however it is not as easy as it might sound or look if you check out the gameplay videos. Some of the levels in the game require you to move and rotate the dimensions at the same time while you are jumping or moving your character around and trust me when I say that your character is not the most agile character in the game. Because of this, every movement has to be precise and the dimension rotation perfect.
You can rotate as much as you want, take as much time as you want to complete the levels, and completely skip rescuing any of the monsters present in the game but simply reaching the end of the level is not as simple as well. As you progress in the story, these levels get tougher and tougher with some of the later levels throwing in enemies and introducing four dimensions instead of two which simply feels like punishment for something that you might have done in your early life. Despite the developer not mentioning it anywhere, you will die a lot in the game and not because of bad design. It will be because you were unable to process all the changes in dimensions and the character movements at the same time.
The level design is probably one of the best elements of the game because of how good all of the dimensions interlink with each other so seamlessly looks very cool. You can rotate them by pressing L1, L2, and R1, R2 as well while for moving them around, you must rely on the right joystick. Some of the challenging puzzles will have you jumping around while continuously rotating the dimensions in order to reach the next part of the puzzle. There are no checkpoints in the game as well so if you fall down, or fail to complete the level, you will have to restart right from the beginning of the level making it a little bit more frustrating as all your hard work is just lost.
World Splitter also supports Multiplayer with local two players joining in action using two controllers. If you have a friend over or a family member to play it with, you can connect another controller to the console and give it to them and solve the puzzles together with each other. The story is narrated via funny, animated cutscenes however there is no audio or written dialogue in the game and all you hear in these cutscenes are monster noises as they run amok here and there. You can view your highscores for each level as well as the cutscenes again in the game as well.
The high score tracker is actually a good feature of the game if you love speedruns and challenge yourself. It will keep track of your fastest times and scores for all levels in the game and when you beat them, you can check them out here. It also keeps track of the additional collection, time, and rotation challenges so that you can visit the levels again and try to complete all of them if you really want to torture your soul.
I will admit here that World Splitter is probably one of the hardest puzzle games that I have played since I started reviewing games in 2018. During these 3 years, I managed to play tons of excellent games from various developers from around the world and very few games actually made me frustrated during my reviews and these include titles like Mortal Shell. However, World Splitter does not make you frustrated because of a bad design. I loved how the developer has taken a completely new take on developing a challenging video game but the fact is that mastering the twin-stick gameplay is always a chore for me and sadly it happened with World Splitter as well. Most of my deaths in the game were because I was just unable to properly operate my thumbs to move and change the dimensions in sync.
The gameplay of World Splitter is extremely challenging if you do not have good eye-to-hand coordination. You are looking at the screen and at the same time using your one hand to move your character around and the other hand to switch the world to create the paths. Sometimes it feels really challenging and hence that is why World Splitter is a puzzle game for people who are really good at their eye-to-hand coordination since they will not have to spend a lot of time mastering the gameplay. The level design is brilliant and how the worlds are integrated with each other is just brilliant however to really enjoy the game, you really have to master its gameplay first otherwise you will be breaking a few of your controllers.
Final Verdict:
World Splitter features a challenging world where you must master the game in order to progress further. The level design is really good, and the animations are good as well. However, before I recommend World Splitter to you, I will say here that you must be ready for a challenge because it may look simply by looking at the trailer above but the game will really test all of your abilities. On the other hand, it is also massively satisfying once you have figured out how to progress in a level and then you get stuck in the next level. It is a love-hate relationship for me but still, I had a good time playing it despite pulling out my hair a few times. Highly recommended for people who want a good challenging puzzle game with unique mechanics and a beautiful world.
Final Score: 8.0/10
