Little Orpheus

Little Orpheus is an adventure that dazzles the eyes and diverts the ears but fails to impress the thumbs.

Solid and definitely have an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.

As much as we adored the charming back-and-forth between Ivan and the General, we also began to lose interest in Ivan’s predicament near the end. There’s no narrative payoff here, no greater meaning or memorable conclusion that sticks with you. In Little Orpheus, The Chinese Room flirts with providing a more engaging experience that never quite materialises, made all the more apparent by the lack of puzzles intuitive enough to give us the barest hint of a dopamine-laced ‘aha!’ moment or a chase sequence or two with enough challenge to make us sit up on our sofa. That aside, the richly detailed worlds and superb presentation provide just enough reason to see Ivan's tall tale through to the end, but we ended up wishing there was more on both the puzzling and narrative fronts.

Charming but linear sci-fi 2.5 platformer

Little Orpheus is a colourful adventure title that plays it too safe. I loved its whacky story, interesting backdrops, and fun mechanics. However, its repetitive nature undermines its potential and this was disappointing.

Little Orpheus' two strong points are the same as the strong points from The Chinese Room's other two games. The thing is, here they've added a third element -- platforming -- that's not nearly as compelling, and it's enough to make the game a far cry from their previous standard.

Little Orpheus brings us the adventure of Ivan Ivanovich, a character we know little or nothing about, but we want so much to understand how he got where he is. With simple gameplay and an interesting narrative, it is undoubtedly a title for new players and lovers of the genre.

Even though it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, I still highly recommend Little Orpheus. If you go in knowing it’s a laid-back adventure that’s more focused on its story than on providing a challenge, then you won’t be disappointed. Especially if you’re looking for a fun, silly, casual experience to enjoy over a few hours. Much how Lost in Play feels like playing a Saturday morning cartoon, Little Orpheus feels like a playable old school adventure film, like The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.

Little Orpheus began life as a video game for phones and, on those platforms, its limited gameplay probably did not stand out as much. This made it easier for the narrative and the presentation to impress players and to keep them moving to see how the story of Ivan and the nuclear bomb ends.

Little Orpheus is a casual cinematic adventure that is light on gameplay but won me over with its impressive narrative and art style. If you’re looking for a challenge you won’t find it here. But if you’re looking for a good story to share with family or loved ones that will take you to unexpected places that you certainly won’t forget then I highly recommend picking up Little Orpheus.