Sure, there’s more than a dash of Monument Valley in this game’s angular architecture and flat pastels. Even the sound has a similar otherworldly sensibility – but this is a very different game to Ustwo’s classic.
You start out guiding the hero Huey to the huge gems at the other end of the stage by drawing a path for him with your finger. Deadly black orbs move in set patterns around the field of play to complicate matters somewhat – but they also provide little windows of opportunity for you to slip past them.
Interestingly, it’s only when your character is ‘connected’ to each gem that you can hit play and let your actions play out. Umiro is really all about planning and executing a move, a unique mix of strategy, stealth and pure timing.
You find a companion, Satura, early on in the game, which means having to consider two different paths through the stage simultaneously; from here it really takes a lot of thought and route-tweaking to get it just right.
Huey and Satura’s journey through these beautiful, abstract worlds is certainly a challenge, then, but it’s one that you’ll relish.
Umiro is yet another top notch release from Devolver – a label with a deserved reputation for releasing cult indie games anyone can enjoy.