Kalimba (PC) Review

Kalimba follows the tradition of so many puzzle platformers, and is an exercise in teaching and expanding. The game begins by teaching the core mechanic—in this case, that the player must control two characters at once. Each moves when the other one does, and each is a specific colour, either green or purple. The game's expansion on this formula manages to be both deep and rudimentary.

There are green and purple barriers throughout, and only the corresponding colour character can pass through. Learning when to switch between the two characters is very important, and can often be a matter of split-second decisions. Kalimba relishes in this schism, the fight between purple and green, and yields mixed results.

Kalimba is a series of tests that don't quite have the balancing needed to be consistently engaging. Each level begins by extending the basic concept of swapping the character positions, and slowly introduces a new way the mechanic can be used. Unfortunately, about a third of the way into most levels, the puzzles suffer from an inconsistency that is not only noticeable, but hindering. Being stuck on a tricky puzzle, then finding the remainder of the puzzles to be retreads of earlier efforts, is enough to break immersion entirely. The lack of a steady difficulty won't be noticeable to everyone, however, for those gamers who do spot it, it is jarring, and ruins the overall flow.

Artwork can make a tedious game worth exploring, and Kalimba definitely doles out pretty aesthetics. More a collection of triangles and trapezoids beautifully laid into a tapestry that forms every fiber of the screen, the artwork is absolutely stunning. Almost like tribal African artwork with a touch of American character types, every visual inch of Kalimba is a gorgeous sight.

There's a story here, but it's nothing to write home about. The cast of characters is limited to player characters and a monkey in sunglasses. Fortunately, there is a lot of depth elsewhere. A co-op mode, and additional, harder levels, function to extend the life of gameplay outside the main single-player story. They open up the possibilities for the completionist to explore, and the co-op campaign is really enjoyable. It still suffers the same faults as the single-player campaign, but going through with a buddy is fun enough to see it through to the end.