Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams

 
Developer: BlackForest Games

Steam Release: Oct 2012

Hours Played: 8.7

Similar To: Fly'n / Juju / Paper Monsters Recut / Rayman Legends / Trine

Rating: 5/5 Parsnips

GAMEPLAY

Catering to the needs of both casual and hardcore gamer alike, the sumptuous GS:TD is a marvellous action platformer that has something for everyone. You switch the control of one purple-haired and one yellow haired sister at the click of the button or the pressing of the right trigger. Both leap and jump around energetically but Ms Purple has the ability to fireball around ferociously charging though brick walls and crashing into enemies while Ms Yellow may gently float slowly downward in mid air. Additionally, Ms Purple inhabits a bright and fluffy happy-looking world while Ms Yellow instantly changes the world to something sinister and creepy with an altogether gothic feel. These core mechanics are the necessary keys to your survival and success.

BALANCE & PACE

The game is made up of 23 rather involved levels consisting of the usual fare of enchanted forests, creepy dungeons, trap-infested caves and elaborate castles. Your primary goal is simply to reach the end of a level to unlock the next. Variety and inventive level design is rife. As such changing both abilities and environments to reach certain areas and to collect different coloured gems becomes a really fun and enjoyable experience. Collecting pretty gems is all well and good but the more serious and hardcore players will want to collect them all... and this is where the real challenge is to be had as, from around level four, these start to become really hard to find. Challenge can be extended further in time-attack mode (thus turning the game into a speedrunner) or hardcore and uber hardcore mode for the masochists.     
 

PRESENTATION & DESIGN 

Initially you'll marvel at the amazing detail. Rocks crumble away nicely, bricks get smashed to smithereens satisfyingly by your fireball ability and your character's movement is smooth and fluid. But it's the transition between the worlds and the ingenious ways they morph that delights: day turns to night; bright colours change to dull shades of browns and orange; luscious plants and fauna change to wilting weeds; flowers get replaced by gravestones; and funny-looking chubby foes switch to demons. These beautifully animated creatures and environments associated with the fantasy / fairy tale genre, thus make the game rival the Trine series in the eye-candy stakes. Unfortunately, I found the music to be rather bland and switched this off early doors.

   

PROGRESS SYSTEM

The makers of GS:TD have certainly gone to town when it comes to modes and different ways to play the game. First off, you can jump into an easy or normal campaign of 23 levels. These can be scrolled through and viewed as floating islands in the level-select screen. Those in shadow are locked. There are hundreds of gems to collect in each but good luck trying to 100% any beyond level three without a walkthrough. For an extra challenge there is hardcore and uber hardcore mode but for mere mortals easy and/or normal is just fine. In addition you could go for score-attack mode where killing monsters gets you points and gem-collecting with a multiplier is a thing. There is also the time-attack option for speedrunning fans but both this and the score-attack need you to have unlocked the level in story mode first. 

CONCLUSION

Released around the same time, Fly'n uses the same type of mechanic and is well worth a try. But with more variety, lush graphics and higher production values the sisters clinch it. There is even a mode (Dream Rush) where you can engage in races with bots. However, although there are hardcore fans who crave the speed running angle, it's the platform puzzler elements that will engage most. Perhaps the best way to enjoy it then, particularly for those after a leisurely experience, is to play short sessions of one or two levels while aiming for completion rather than going all out to get gems and maybe to go for gem collecting sessions at a later date. This is because while the game happens to be both undoubtedly fun and absorbing it's also quite intense and challenging - meaning short bursts is the thing.