Giraffe and Annika

The new game Giraffe and Annika is being pitched as an action-packed adventure with a deeply emotional story and Guitar Hero-inspired combat. Now that I've played the game, I'm here to say that some of that is accurate. It's definitely an adventure game with a well-told story, but it comes up way short in the music department and I would never use the term "action-packed" to describe any part of the game. Oh, and since we're on the subject, prepare to be disappointed when you discover that Giraffe is a person and not one of those long-necked animals that hangs out at Africa and Toys R Us.

This is the story of Annika, a young cat-girl who came to a small island village to hang out with her friend Lisa. It's a peaceful island that is home to a family of rabbits, a lighthouse, an incredible observatory and an otherworldly school for dance. Unfortunately, Lisa has gone missing and Annika has inconveniently lost all of her memories. The good news is that a mysterious boy who goes by the name Giraffe seems to remember Annika and may know what's going on, but he's on his own mission to collect a series of glowing stars that are scattered around the island. But what does he need these stars for? Why does he need Annika do all the hard work? And, most importantly, where is Lisa?

Before we even have a chance to ponder these questions, our titular hero is talked into journeying to the deepest, darkest and most dangerous parts of the island in an effort to beat the boss and collect the stars. Seeing as Giraffe is unable to enter the dungeons, it's up to Annika to find the right path and platform her way to the end of the level, all while doing everything possible to avoid the ghosts lining the way. She doesn't have a sword or any other weapons, so these dungeons are all about sneaking past the undead creatures and outrunning any that happen to be following her.

At the end of each of these dungeons is a boss, which is where Giraffe and Annika shifts from 3D platforming to a simplistic rhythm game. It's a one-on-one battle where the boss will throw balls at either the left or right side of the stage and you'll need to move Annika in order to press the note with the beat. This becomes more complicated as the boss starts to throw sustained notes and enemies at our hero, but if you've played Rock Band, Guitar Hero or pretty much any other rhythm game released in the last fifteen years, then you'll have no problem keeping the beat alive.

When she's not exploring dungeons and battling bosses, Annika will go on a bunch of scavenger hunt-style missions for the people around the island. She'll need to find wood for the bridge, track down all of the bunnies, play matchmaker for the woman at the lighthouse and so on so forth. There are also a couple dozen cat-related drawings scattered around that will unlock new costumes and secrets. All this is fairly straight-forward and designed to get the player to explore the small open world. Without any violence and a cute character around every corner, Giraffe and Annika seems like it's aimed at a younger audience, though I have a hunch the emotional story and revelations will satisfy older players.

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That said, there's no question that the adventure is a little too easy for its own good. The scavenger hunt quests are never a challenge because the island is so small. Every part of this game wants to be found, so it won't take the average player long to complete the three dungeons and reveal the twist ending. About the only thing you have to worry about are the ghosts in the dungeons, but they are usually easy to avoid and the levels are painfully linear. About the only time I ran into trouble was when the game glitched out and didn't trigger one of the story beats, but that was resolved after I reloaded the game.

That brings me to the most disappointing part of Giraffe and Annika -- the rhythm battles. I was instantly sold on the game when I saw the music fights in the trailer, but it's such a small part of the game that it's barely worth mentioning. There are only five of these rhythm sections in the entire adventure, and none of them are particularly challenging. Maybe I expected too much, but I went in hoping that I would constantly be getting into these fights. That's not the case, and what is in its place doesn't feel fully cooked. We run away from ghosts instead of fighting them with music, and that's just not very satisfying. This game has a cool battle system that is woefully under-utilized.

It's a shame that the adventure is so straight-forward and the rhythm sections are barely used, because Giraffe and Annika has an incredibly effective ending that will stick with you. The graphics are also good and the music is damn catchy. This is a solid game that should be easy to recommend, but the complete lack of challenge and half-baked dungeons undermines this adventure every step of the way.