Sierra is back from the grave and one of the first outing from this long-lost publisher/developer is Shiftlings. Developed by Rock Pocket Games, Shiftlings is a cute little puzzle-platformer that will have you smiling and cursing the entire time.
We’ve seen dozens of these indie platformers over the years, but Shiftlings offers enough to make it a fun and unique experience. The game sets you up controlling two characters that are tied together by their spacesuits umbilical cord. Why they share the same cord is beyond me, but it serves its purpose to the overall experience.
One of your Shiftlings manages to take a drink of the universes most fizzy soda while out on assignment and balloons to immense proportions. As your two characters are sharing an umbilical you’ll be able to “shift” your bloated, fizzy filled body into your partner. This mechanic serves as the games base and offers up a number of inventive puzzles, on top of the hilarious nature of it all.
The games backstory sees our two silent heroes plucked from their mundane lives as space janitors and given the task to activate and repair a number of generators in some whacked out Running Man style show. These generators are sprawled across five themed planets with ten levels each. Fifty levels don’t seem like a lot, but the games puzzles and extras will keep you playing for a while.
The whole things if buffered by the games announcer that will constantly gush on your ineptitude and on the multitude of deaths that you’ll fall victim to. Your characters aren’t meant to hear any of this because he’s a television show announcer and the show that’s being broadcasted across the galaxy is you two. The whole things has a very Truman Show vibe and the cutscenes between plant switches is a real joy to watch.
Shiftlings is built around the premise of two individual characters working in tandem, so you are going to be happy to hear that the game has drop in two-player support. You can have a buddy join you in person or jump online to be matched with another human being. This opens the game up to multiple playthroughs because you’ll be able to learn new things about old levels, or lose your mind dealing with a partner that isn’t the bright bulb in the pack. You’ll have to push and pull around the levels, inflate and deflate to understand puzzles, and bounce on your partner to reach new areas. It’s a game that demands you have someone join you, and one that will also have you screaming at them.
It’s all really fun, but where things get a little dicey is in the single player experience. There are many segments later in the game that will require you to do some insanely quick switching and moving between both characters all at once. In two-player mode this frustration is mitigated with a good player, but in single-player it can become a nightmare to manage at times. Being as I don’t have any friends, I enjoy playing solo, and while it was still a blast, the game does suffer a bit later on.
Controlling your Shiftlings is a breeze and the basic mechanics are smooth, but it isn’t without some issues. Being a platformer a game will live and die by its tight controls and this is where Shiftlings falters a bit. Again, this only really comes up in the later stages, but the movement controls can feel a little loose. There where more than a few times when it felt like my guy was on ice and cost me a needless death. I also have to note that the game did crash out on me once during play. I think I bounced on my inflated buddy in a tight space and the quick repeated bounces freaked the game out leading to its crash, but it was a random and not replicable issue.
These little things aside, Shiftlings is a lot of fun to play and is a blast when you have someone join you. The graphics are also top-notch here. Rock Pocket Games have done a fantastic with the over aesthetic everything here. Each world really pops and has a unique flavor and while you won’t be learning any new moves or tricks, you’ll be facing off against enemies and puzzles that will keep the challenge ramped up.
Shiftlings is a really basic game packed with loads of charm. It’s not going to win any awards and it doesn’t push the genre forward, but what it does it does exceptionally well. It’s rare that we get a good puzzle-platformer on the PC, let alone one the offers inventive co-op. If you like puzzles and a challenge, Shiftlings is going to be for you, but be warned that the game is sitting at $14.99 and that just feels a little bit much, especially for those that are really good at puzzle games.
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