Developer: Chubby Pixel
Publisher: Chubby Pixel
Platform: Switch
Tested on: Switch
Woodle Tree Adventures Deluxe – Review
Woodle Tree Adventures is a title that has been out since June 2014 on Steam and for the most part the game was well received in all its simplicity. Now, more than three years later the game appears on the indie friendly Switch, albeit as a Deluxe version, thus hopefully taking in consideration some of the bad aspects of the original title, such as the camera view, the limited content and the somewhat dodgy platforming, which is certainly bad for a game that’s all about platforming. Nonetheless, we fell in love with the art style, as simple as it may be, and we were quite curious to see how this new and improved version of the first Woodle Tree game turned out.
Story
The story is just like the game, fairly cute and short. You, a walking log, will be brought to life by a giant tree that seemingly popped out of Ocarina of Time, albeit with a more cubistic approach, to gather fairy tears, as the world is going through a horrible drought. These tears will restore balance to the world and allow it to prosper again, allowing life to bloom. That’s pretty much all there is to the story portion of the game, and safe for a few phrases at the end, that’s all you’ll be getting out of this title.
Graphics
Even though the simplistic graphical prowess might not convince many older gamers, seeing the game looks somewhat childish and very bright, Woodle Tree Adventures Deluxe is a very appealing game that pays a proper homage to games from the Nintendo 64 era. The great tree in this game is a clear nod towards the Deku tree in Ocarina of Time, and the different worlds may lack a bit of clutter here and there, they feel alive thanks to the colorful visuals. While the enemies move a bit lackluster and feel a bit lifeless in the otherwise vivid world, this game runs well on the Switch and it really looks like a game for young and old, albeit with a few bugs where you seemingly hover above the ground, walk through walls, where your tears float through items and all of those things combined with a very dodgy camera view.
Sound
You’ll be treated to the sound of the wind in your hub, which feels like a missed opportunity as the hub could have used a very upbeat track to lighten the mood. The soundtrack used for the actual levels is decent and fairly light, but doesn’t always portray the proper mood. The sound effects, on the other hand, are a bit too simple, as you’ll always make the same sound when jumping and attacking and your enemies will do the same when they perish after your attack. Only the sound of picking up the berries/apples is very satisfying.
Gameplay
Woodle Tree Adventures Deluxe is a 3D platformer that’s pretty much reminiscent of the good old fashioned Nintendo 64 platformers. You’re set out to find the tears of fairies in order to provide the world with enough water, and you’ll have to collect three of them per level, of which there are only six for the main story, and two extra ones you can unlock by picking up the apple-like berries in the different levels. When knowing the game only has six story levels and each level only spans around ten minutes, you know you’re in for a short adventure. Nonetheless, the overall setup is pleasant, and the extra levels show what this game could have been.
The first six levels are very linear, which means you’ll find the tears as you go, and you’ll hardly have to sidetrack at all. The two extra levels however are free roam, and we believe this is based on the system of the second game. We’re actually quite sad that the story part wasn’t dragged out with more of these levels, as these were fun to roam around in, having to find the tears and also bypass a lot more enemies than in the initial six stages.
While your original weapon, the green colored leaf, is annoying to work with, as you’ll have to stand next to your opponent before you can actually hit him, you’ll quickly be able to upgrade to a ranged variant after collecting around 200 berries. This makes the game a lot easier when dealing with foes, as positioning is somewhat of a disaster in this game due to a poor overview and even shoddier camerawork. You can only zoom in and out, and even then you can’t always use this function, as on certain fixed segments you’ll have to make do with what the game throws at you, camera wise.
The platforming and the controls are fairly pleasant, once again a lot more pleasant in the free roam levels, but properly calculating the distance and so on is hard to do due to the aforementioned camera issues. Nonetheless, avid platformers will easily plow their way through this game, making it feel as if it’s a bit intended to play with your children, or to simply aim for collecting berries, turning the game into a fairly relaxing experience. The game also has no life system, which means you’ll respawn as much as you like if you fall off a cliff, get hit by an enemy or just feel like jumping off the side of the screen if you lost the way. The checkpoints however are also quite dodgy, as sometimes they’ll work, and other times they simply won’t. Then again, with the extreme shortness of the levels, you won’t have to replay a lot in case you die.
Overall the game is very short and a bit on the simple side, which isn’t a big deal, but some portions just feel unfinished. The game has no in-level counters to see how many berries are left to collect, and the hub doesn’t show which levels you have already completed. Reloading the game often results in losing your upgrades, but you can simply get these back by walking over to said platforms that contain your upgraded weapons, or bandana, the latter being solely cosmetic.
Conclusion
Woodle Tree Adventures Deluxe is pretty much a one man show, safe for a few design choices and porting the game to the Switch and it deserves to be judged as such. While this game will not break any records in terms of great platforming, or graphical prowess, it’s just a simple, likeable platformer with a childlike theme that’s suitable for both younger and older gamers. Even though we can’t award this game a high score, we are looking forward to seeing the second game being ported to the Switch, as it addresses a lot of the issues that hampered the first game, and that are still present in the Deluxe version of said title.
Woodle Tree Adventures Deluxe - Review,
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