Woven

Set in a world filled with fabric fields and yarn jungles, Woven looks like it's going to be the year's most charming 3D platformer. But look again, because this isn't the next Mario or Jak & Daxter clone, but rather this new release from Alterego Games has a lot more in common with point and click adventure games like Sam & Max and Monkey Island. That's an odd choice, but it ultimately leads to a gentle quest with a lot of great world building that is the perfect entry point for gamers looking to get into the graphic adventure genre.

This is the story of Stuffy, a dim-witted stuffed animal who just wants to explore the soft and stitched-together world around him, but is too afraid. Stuffy's life changes when he runs into Glitch, a flying mechanical creature with a spotlight for an eye. While our hero just wants to look around, Glitch is determined to regain its memory and uncover the secrets of this world. There are visions of mechanical spiders and other creatures causing havoc, but what does it all mean? Glitch seems to think that the answers are on the Moon, so the two unlikely friends work together to figure out what's going on.

What Glitch quickly discovers is that Stuffy is able to reinvent himself with different animal designs. This isn't just cosmetic, as shifting between a cat, bird, giraffe, pig, elephant and more will have specific gameplay perks. For example, some animals will be able to use their legs to jump on ledges, while others will stomp the ground. You'll find that birds can hover over the water and sing to attract animals, while the cats are good at picking things up and pushing buttons. There are eight different abilities to use to solve the various puzzles, so the trick is to constantly change back and forth between stuffed animals in an effort to make it through all five chapters.

While the focus is largely on Stuffy, Glitch also has a few abilities worth talking about. The flying spotlight will be able to illuminate caves, which not only helps our hero find his way through dark areas, but will also reveal part of the story and history through cave paintings. More importantly, Glitch can scan different patterns, animals and patches, which you can use as fabric for Stuffy. This is usually just for cosmetics, but sometimes locating the right pattern matters. It's the only way to blend in with the environment and trick certain enemies, so a lot of Woven involves the odd couple exploring the yarn-filled world looking for fabrics to collect.

Probably the most important thing Glitch does is power all of the machines that are sitting around. Without Glitch, Stuffy wouldn't be able to change shapes in the knitting machine. And it's more than that, because Glitch also powers the device that spits out blueprints. It's here where the adventure shifts into a weird rhythm mini-game, where the goal is to move the four hands into the right position in order to tap on notes. This mini-game gets a little repetitive after a while and isn't very challenging, but I like how it fits into the greater lore of this world.

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It's the level of world building that I liked the most about Woven. Although I was initially annoyed by the constant cinemas and far-too-chatty narrator, I was eventually won over by the mystery and mythology. This is a game that gets a lot better once you're allowed to explore without worrying about falling into a cinema, and I was surprised by how emotionally attached I got to these characters. I'm still not a fan of the narrator repeating the same lines over and over and there are certainly times when it feels like there's a new cinema every three steps, but there's no question that the story ramps up in a big way and ends on a high note.

Unfortunately, a lot of the fun of this game comes down to how much you like searching for hard-to-find patterns. There's no going back to past chapters once you've advanced the story, so if you want to find all the fabrics and blueprints, you'll either needs to search every part of the level or start over from the beginning. The good news is that you can miss most of the collectables without it impacting the progression, but a lot of this game feels like an elaborate scavenger hunt.

Part of the reason for this is because the puzzles aren't especially challenging. In fact, this is among the easiest adventure games I've ever played. There's not much mystery to what you're supposed to do, since Glitch will always remind Stuffy what to do next by using a thought bubble. The most challenging element comes from locating a knitting machine or finding the hidden gears. Even when things begin to get complicated, Woven is good about showing you exactly where you're supposed to go to solve the puzzle. This is an easy game that feels like it's aimed at a younger audience, so fans of the point and click genre may be underwhelmed by the simple adventure.

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Speaking of which, I was also let down by the graphics. While there are definitely times when the knitted look is convincing, it often comes across as artificial, and not in the right way. It's also oddly repetitive, which I didn't expect. Some of the later levels are so big that you can't help but see the same visual flourishes used multiple times. And it doesn't help that Stuffy never looks like he's interacting with this world. Thankfully, the variety in locations and animal types help to make up for some of this, and I was ultimately won over by the design aesthetic and construction by the end of the game.

Although it's a bit on the easy side, Woven is a charming and gentle adventure game with a compelling story and a customizable character. The non-violent journey often feels like it's aimed at younger audiences, but also dabbles in darker (and more existential) subject matter. The problem is the easy difficulty, which always feels like the game is holding your hand. It's also frustrating that you have to start the game over again just to find all of the patterns and stuffed animal blueprints. Woven is a solid game that is ultimately marred by easy puzzles and a narrator who won't stop talking.