Shiftlings Review (Xbox One)

Physics-based puzzle platformers are quite numerous nowadays so many try to draw attention by featuring some kind of new gimmick that turns the experience into something much more enticing than the sum of its parts.

Shiftlings, coming from Rock Pocket Games and Sierra, is no exception, as it introduces two protagonists, in the form of alien janitors, that are conjoined by a hose and can inflate or deflate alternatively, gaining new abilities in the process.

Throw in a pretty colorful design and lots of tongue-in-cheek humor and Shiftlings is certainly looking interesting.

Does the new title manage to deliver a fun experience or should it shift into something more appealing? Let's find out.

Story

Shiftlings focuses on two nameless alien janitors. After accidentally ingesting the "fizziest drink in the universe," one of them balloons out of control by a combination of burp/fart. Because they're connected via their air hose, the gas can be exchanged with a press of a button, inflating and deflating at the same time.

Besides this rather outlandish premise, the plot is also sustained through the fact that the two aliens are apparently the starts in an alien reality show that focuses on their exploits and sends them on different janitorial missions that involve shutting down gas valves, closing waste-emitting pipes, and so on. Everything is commentated by the host of the show in a pretty hilarious manner so you'll keep a smile on your face throughout most of the game.

Activate checkpoints in Shiftlings

Gameplay and Multiplayer

The game is a pretty basic puzzle platformer, but the deflate/inflate system manages to evolve the experience into a pretty innovative one. The inflated janitor can pull the regular one after him, as well as push boxes and other such things. The deflated one can jump, squeeze through tighter spaces, and operate levers in the environment.

If you play alone, you can control only one of the aliens at one point in time, swapping between them with the press of a button. You can, however, move them together by holding a bumper button pressed.

“Of course, the game is made, more or less, for cooperative play, which can be performed either locally or online.”

Playing alone is still a pretty fun experience, especially since you can coordinate jumping on top of the inflated janitor and moving around to reach new platforms. You might also end up with a troll for a teammate, who constantly inflates and deflates his own character, making solving the puzzles impossible.

The actual level design is quite good, managing to keep a pretty smooth difficulty curve, while introducing new elements to the equation in the five different worlds, each with 10 levels. However, there are plenty of moments where the solution is hard to find, or in which you might fall through small spaces and have to repeat an entire section. There are even moments when you get through things without realizing what you did right and, in case you make a misstep, you'll have to do it all over again.

This can get quite aggravating, as the relatively open level design means that you might reach the exit of the stage without first completing the actual mission, which involves reaching a checkpoint and pulling on some levers.

Things can get even more annoying if you want to find the three hidden collectibles scattered in every stage, but those that want to flex their brains and reflexes can do that and even go in the Time Attack mode and try to set the best times in each level.

Dying can also happen, especially starting with the second world onward, but there are quite a few checkpoints scattered throughout the levels in order to make respawning easy and simple.

Another bit of annoyance comes when you have to get both janitors on the same platform, this often evolves juggling around the inflation/deflation target, switching between them, and hoping that there's enough space for the inflate alien to pull the deflated one where he needs to go.

Visuals and Sound

Shiftlings looks quite impressive, boasting vibrant colors, attractive cartoonish designs for its characters and levels, and some relatively sharp animations and visual effects. However, there are a few glitches when it comes to activating levers or interacting with objects.

The soundtrack is decent but the voice acting for the narrator and the reality show host stand out, even though they can become a bit repetitive. The host in particular pokes fun when you die, when you get stuck, or when you do finally reach success, but it can become tiring after a while.

The Good

The Bad

Conclusion

Shiftlings is a fun little puzzle platformer with a novel mechanic that's pulled off pretty well. Unfortunately, some stages have confusing solutions and playing with a friend can be both laughter and rage-inducing, depending on your luck. Throw in the often times where a misstep means retreading through some annoying sections and you won't always have a good time.

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