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 friends 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 principle 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 numerous endurance and a very good accomplice 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 improve. There’s numerous sideways motion required earlier than you may climb greater. There’s additionally loads of downward movement as a result of – guess what? – you fall typically. Like, continuously. You then need to re-climb any sections you’ve fallen previous in your manner 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 numerous trial and error at each bounce. It takes some time to grasp, which might show an excessive amount of for some gamers. The builders are conscious of this excessive problem; to assist maintain 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 might be toggled on or off at any level.
A checkpoint is one such possibility. This lets you plant a flag, exhibiting off your accomplishment like several first rate mountain climber by indicating that you just’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 have to climb the identical sections repeatedly, then.
A extra overpowered possibility is flight. Sure, these penguins can really fly, pulled off by urgent the related button. It feels an terrible lot like dishonest (and it’s) since you may merely flap your manner up the complete mountain in mere minutes and end the sport. It offers you an thought of what to anticipate whenever you give it an actual go – that was my excuse, anyway. What it’s really useful for is flapping again as much as the place you simply fell – it’s sooner than the checkpoint – or skipping significantly 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 case you can’t discover a worthy real-life companion to climb with, there’s a devoted single-player mode. It is 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 accomplice adjustments the best way you climb. It even barely alters the course, with some variations within the structure of the mountainside.
You’ll be able to choose up Jeff and carry him. Actually, you have to choose him up as a way to stroll since he’s too heavy to pull. You’ll be able to toss him, and holding the throw button launches him even additional. If you happen to time this accurately, you’ll bounce mid-throw to achieve further momentum and distance. It is a troublesome transfer to grasp (at the least for me). It took an absurdly very long time to be taught, although it felt satisfying as soon as pulled off. One other useful Jeff transfer is his capability to “stick” to partitions quickly, permitting you to swing your self onto different partitions or ledges.
It’s this mix of strikes that helps you clamber slowly up the mountain. Bread & Fred comes throughout as a calming recreation, and in some methods it’s. The piano-based music, for instance, gives a soothing backdrop to your high-rise journey. One other clue is the dearth of enemies and any sort of timer; regardless of appearances, this isn’t a Mario-like journey. As a substitute, the main target stays purely on ascending. Simply don’t let the lovable aesthetics idiot you; this can be a powerful title to grasp. On the plus facet, it means a real climb – with out flying – is prone to take a while, giving the sport loads of longevity.
Total, Bread & Fred is a novel platformer with moments of brilliance and frustration in equal measure. It seems to be pretty and I respect the distinctive co-op strategy to issues, together with the inclusion of Jeff in single-player mode. It’s onerous, although; maybe too onerous to be really pleasant. If in case you have a affected person accomplice, then this may very well be a enjoyable solution to check your relationship.
