Nihilumbra (PS Vita) Second Opinion Review

It feels like there's a hidden (or possibly not so hidden) subtext embedded deeply into the narrative of Nihilumbra with a profound and meaningful message about the very nature of existence and creation itself. Unfortunately, it's well beyond the comprehension of this writer's feeble mind, so rather than proffer potentially wrong interpretations it seems that the best approach when attempting a review would be to stick to the bare facts.

Originally released on iOS way back in 2012 by small Spanish studio BeautiFun Games, Nihilumbra is a puzzle heavy platformer that has since surfaced on the Android, PC, PlayStation Vita, and soon on Wii U. It tells the tale of a void; a mass of nothingness that suddenly spews forth a blob that becomes sentient, takes on the form of the first thing it sees (a scarecrow), and finds itself in a stark, alien landscape that raises more questions than it answers. Cue a flurry of existential questioning from the inquisitive blob along the lines of:

'Who am I?'
'What am I doing here?'
'Where is here?'
'I'm starving … is there a kebab shop nearby?' (okay, this one is made up)

There's little time to ponder the nature of the situation, although given that the void seems fixated on re-assimilating the escapee on the nearest opportunity, thus setting up the chase. Immediate similarities to Limbo spring to mind as both games inhabit a mysterious, bleak, oppressive world that is traversed from left to right while solving puzzles to progress. However, unlike Limbo, there is an additional tactile element that allows the player to interact with the landscape and change its properties via use of the touch screen. Unsurprisingly, these changes have repercussions on the void-spawn and the foes that oppose it.

The relatively short journey through Nihilumbra takes place across five different landscapes, each of which bestows a new colour ability for the anti-hero to utilise on the increasingly hostile environment. First stop is the Frozen Cliffs that gifts the colour blue, leaving an icy sheen on any surface it's applied to, making it ideal for either building up momentum for a long jump, making enemies slide into danger, or enabling the easier pushing of heavy objects. Once out of the frost zone, things start to pick up in the Living Forest where the colour green enables the power of bounce, which when used in conjunction with the laws of physics facilitates the trampolining to areas previously out of reach. For those who enjoy the colour brown (who doesn't?), then the Ash Desert is the place to be as this sticky covering is ideal for slowing down quick enemies, clinging to walls, and stealthily sneaking past dozing hazards. Unsurprisingly, the Volcano level brings the heat in association with the colour red, so budding pyromaniacs can make the surface hot, which will set fire to any enemies dwelling on it for too long. Last, but not least, the Abandoned City bequeaths the colour yellow and in doing so gives the ability to conduct electricity and bring power to long dormant turrets and lifts. Each level ends with the void closing in on gamers, forcing a reactive sprint to outrun it before making a leap of faith into the next area.

As touched upon earlier, the main campaign isn't a particularly lengthy affair, yet progress does rely on some fairly satisfying puzzle solving pitched at a difficulty gradient that rises in relation to the player's proximity to the end of the game. Completing Nihilumbra unlocks the 'Void' mode, a considerably tougher challenge that revisits all the previous levels but lays in a totally different set of puzzles that are liberally dosed with an overabundance of seemingly more aggressive enemy creatures. An additional mechanic involving coloured flowers that prevent the usage of matching colour abilities in close proximity adds yet another head scratching strand to proceedings.

A fairly odd design choice that takes centre stage during the journey is the deep voiced narrator who prattles on throughout the entire game, providing all the cod philosophy and soul searching questions running through the protagonist's head. It's mildly irritating and, at times, it actually struggles to keep up with the gameplay as eagerness to progress will cut off the slow, drawling dialogue mid flow. It's easy to understand why BeautiFun felt the need to include a narrator but, thankfully, there is a mute option that can be enabled without fear of missing salient plot points given that the blobs musings appear on-screen in text form anyway.