We are not sure where to start with Balan Wonderworld. With early access to the demo – available to everyone starting tomorrow – we are playing this somewhat mysterious title and we are not entirely convinced. The demo itself is quite large, but from our experience, we are not convinced of this new concept by Yuji Naka.
After a stylish introduction to the game world with a sophisticated CG scene, you are launched into a central world that connects each of the game’s levels. There is not much to see or do here, except jump onto a stage. The first pair of levels is on a farm, with giant plantations and green fields everywhere. What is most unusual about this configuration is a very shocking visual effect. As you run forward, the world goes beyond a kind of fold, as if you are in a huge cylinder. The problem is that the effect is poorly implemented; in fact, it moved a little bit with our eyes. After clearing this first world, other levels open up and they don’t seem to have the same problem.
Anyway, leaving aside the visual quirks, the game has an extravagant look, with everything in bright colors and running at 60 frames per second locked on the PlayStation 5. That said, it is not particularly impressive to look at, with very simple characters and texture work. The music is better, accompanying the stages with easy tracks that will probably end up in your head.
As for the gameplay itself, it is extremely simple. The main hook of Balan Wonderworld is that your character can wear several costumes, and each one offers a unique skill. After collecting one, you will get a brief explanation of what it does. Examples in the demonstration include a wolf suit that allows you to generate a tornado, a flower that can stretch to reach collectible items, and a dragon that can spit fireballs. We say that the gameplay is extremely simple because, regardless of what outfit you are currently wearing, its ability is activated with a single button. You can use any of the face buttons or any of the triggers (which have some adaptive feedback on DualSense) to execute the power of a suit.
This means that the game is very accessible for younger players, and there is no concern about controls when changing clothes. You can store three of them at the same time and switch freely between them whenever you want. What’s good is that each skill can be used to progress through a level, but it can also be used against villains. Some are better than others for warding off enemies, but just jumping on heads will do the job.
If you are hit by an enemy, you will lose the clothes you are currently wearing, which can be a hassle, depending on how far away the clothing collection is. In general, they seem to be distributed intelligently, but be prepared to step back a little if you need a specific skill.
After playing through several levels in the demo, it looks like you’ll want to go back to the previous stages with more clothes unlocked. You can choose which costumes to take to the stage, allowing you to mix things up and potentially access new areas or hidden secrets. Your main objective, as far as we know, is to collect golden statues of Balan, and you will need to use all the clothes to find them all.
There are also mini-games to discover, but they hit the ground well, not adding much to the experience. After playing on a stage, you will have collected some colorful jewels. Back in the central area, these jewels can be fed to the pups as creatures called Tims, but it is not really explained why you should do this.
This is not the only unexplained mystery; there’s a counter in the middle of the hub and we haven’t yet figured out what it’s for. After fighting a chief, we released the farmer trapped inside, and then took a trip on a sky train. This demonstration contains a good amount, but the inexplicable elements left us somewhat perplexed.
Of course, the goal with this game is to create something with a dreamlike quality that is suitable for players of all skill levels. There is nothing wrong with that, of course, but we cannot help but be impressed by what we play. Perhaps the full game will do better with the whole image in place, as it now looks like a bizarre mix of ideas that don’t fit.
The Balan Wonderworld demo will be available from Thursday, January 28, for PS5 and PS4. Are you going to check this out? Play dress up in the comments section below.