Bread & Fred is a co-op platformer developed by Sand Castles Studio and printed by Apogee Leisure. It marks the debut title for this indie developer, presenting a fun-yet-challenging expertise that offers me excessive hopes for the workforce’s future.
In Bread & Fred, you and a buddy play the roles of two cute penguins generally known as, you guessed it, Bread and Fred. These buddies start at base camp amongst their penguin brethren earlier than embarking on a trek up the close by mountain. Alongside the best way are a number of characters to fulfill, collectibles to seek out, and races to win. Nevertheless, the primary premise is the climb itself.
Gameplay is seemingly easy; leap from platform to platform. The trick is to leap whereas being tethered to at least one one other. And therein lies the problem; most jumps are too far to leap with out both leaping collectively or swinging each other utilizing the tether, the momentum hurling the penguins additional. You’ll want a number of endurance and associate to get to the highest.
The height is 500 meters excessive – that’s over 1600 ft for you imperial people. The sport sports activities a useful gauge that displays your altitude (in meters) as you climb. It’s satisfying to see the numbers slowly enhance. There’s a number of sideways motion required earlier than you may climb greater. There’s additionally loads of downward movement as a result of – guess what? – you fall usually. Like, always. You then must re-climb any sections you’ve fallen previous in your method again down. Is it irritating? That’s a tough query to reply.
I like platformers. And I like a problem. However this can be a powerful little title to grasp. Endurance is vital, with a number of trial and error at each soar. It takes some time to grasp, which may show an excessive amount of for some gamers. The builders are conscious of this excessive issue; to assist hold issues considerably balanced, there’s no coronary heart counter or timer to fret about, simply these pesky cliffs to scale. There are additionally a number of accessibility options that make issues a lot simpler. These may be toggled on or off at any level.
A checkpoint is one such choice. This lets you plant a flag, displaying off your accomplishment like every respectable mountain climber by indicating that you simply’ve conquered a part of the mountain. It additionally signifies that, if – extra precisely, when – you fall, you may simply whisk your self again to that checkpoint. No must climb the identical sections repeatedly, then.
A extra overpowered choice is flight. Sure, these penguins can truly fly, pulled off by urgent the related button. It feels an terrible lot like dishonest (and it’s) since you may merely flap your method up your complete mountain in mere minutes and end the sport. It offers you an concept of what to anticipate whenever you give it an actual go – that was my excuse, anyway. What it’s truly useful for is flapping again as much as the place you simply fell – it’s sooner than the checkpoint – or skipping notably difficult sections. So, solely half dishonest.
Regardless of this title being made for co-op, I respect the choices for solo gamers. On-line connectivity means you may partner-up nearly with somebody from one other location. Plus, in the event you can’t discover a worthy real-life companion to climb with, there’s a devoted single-player mode. This can be a terrific inclusion that helps share the sport with a wider viewers. Not that it makes issues a lot simpler, thoughts you.
Within the single-player mode, your climbing buddy is a rock named Jeff. I like Jeff. He sports activities a smiley face that gives slightly character. Aside from that, he doesn’t do a lot – I imply, he’s a rock. This associate modifications the best way you climb. It even barely alters the course, with some variations within the format of the mountainside.
You possibly can choose up Jeff and carry him. In truth, you have to select him up with a purpose to stroll since he’s too heavy to tug. You possibly can toss him, and holding the throw button launches him even additional. If you happen to time this appropriately, you’ll soar mid-throw to realize further momentum and distance. This can be a troublesome transfer to grasp (no less than for me). It took an absurdly very long time to study, although it felt satisfying as soon as pulled off. One other useful Jeff transfer is his skill to “stick” to partitions quickly, permitting you to swing your self onto different partitions or ledges.
It’s this mixture of strikes that helps you clamber slowly up the mountain. Bread & Fred comes throughout as a soothing sport, and in some methods it’s. The piano-based music, for instance, supplies a soothing backdrop to your high-rise journey. One other clue is the dearth of enemies and any form of timer; regardless of appearances, this isn’t a Mario-like journey. As an alternative, the main focus stays purely on ascending. Simply don’t let the lovable aesthetics idiot you; this can be a powerful title to grasp. On the plus aspect, it means a real climb – with out flying – is more likely to take a while, giving the sport loads of longevity.
General, Bread & Fred is a singular platformer with moments of brilliance and frustration in equal measure. It appears to be like pretty and I respect the distinctive co-op strategy to issues, together with the inclusion of Jeff in single-player mode. It’s laborious, although; maybe too laborious to be actually fulfilling. When you have a affected person associate, then this could possibly be a enjoyable method to take a look at your relationship.