Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams - Owltimate Edition

Five years on, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is still the same creative and colourful platformer it was on Wii U, only now with a few extra levels and some much-needed additional polish. While its phase-changing gimmick isn't as special or unique anymore - the likes of Guacamelee and co have riffed and improved on the concept in the years since - there's still plenty to enjoy here. With 40 levels to beat, plenty of challenging boss fights and a wealth of modes, you get plenty of bang for your buck - even if the soundtrack can be rather hit and miss.

This platformer features a competent gameplay with large amounts of content, as well as a marvelous art style and a customizable soundtrack that only contributes to make the environment ever more enjoyable. A recommended work for fans of platform games.

Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams - Owltimate Edition combines charming visuals and a good level of performance on the Switch, in the service of a virtual world that enchants with its visuals and soundtrack. Controls and physics are tight enough, but the only thing that it lacks is that little spark that hooks the player in and motivates to keep plodding through to the end. It quickly becomes too repetitive for its own good, and fails to vary things up enough, or to entice a sustainable level of commitment on the player's part beyond a few hours. It may, however, be the most stable version of the game to date in terms of frame rate, if perhaps a bit slow to load from an SD card on the hybrid console.

All in all, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams - Owltimate Edition is a well-made and enjoyable platformer. It doesn't break the mold, but it does what it does very well. It's easy to pick up and a lot of fun to play. There are some minor flaws here and there, but nothing really drags down the game. If you're a fan of old-school platformers, then you'll likely enjoy Giana Sisters. It's not quite on par with some of the greats, but it's a comfortable and fun romp for players of all ages.

Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is a fun, colorful and challenging action platformer that has now found its way to the Nintendo Switch. This being the Owltimate Edition means that it's the most packed version of the game with 40 levels in total and plenty of collectibles to find in each one. Go give it a try!

It might have taken a while for the Giana girls to get back into action, but between this and their DS game, it's a name in video games that I certainly hope continues to keep churning out wonderful new adventures for all of us to play. Go give Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams — Owltimate Edition a download!

Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is a fantastic 2D platformer and this Owltimate Edition is a great excuse to give it a try if you've never played it before.

Giana Sisters isn't bad, but unless you're a fan of the series, there are plenty of better games on Nintendo Switch for a fraction of the price that your money would be better spent on.

All in all, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams - Owltimate Edition is a great platformer that lets you get by as you learn and feels great to ace once you nail the skills. It looks cool, works well in both handheld and docked modes, has tight controls, and enough depth to make replaying its copious content worthwhile. Recommended.

Spreading out the 700 or so crystals of some stages across three or four more manageable stages would help the game feel fresher and more exciting. While the music is a highlight, it doesn't always match the visuals on screen, and all in all, I find this title a hard one to recommend. If you're blown away by the art style or the music, give Twisted Dreams a look, but otherwise look for your sweet dreams somewhere else.