Review

Tiny & Big in Grandpa’s Leftovers

One thing I’ve noticed about the video game industry is that there is no limit to how weird its games can be! Mushrooms that alter your shape and size, giant rideable chickens, monkeys walking around in plastic balls; all of these absurd notions are welcomed with open arms. So, I wasn’t too surprised when I heard that my next review title featured a story about magic underwear!

Developed by Black Pants Game Studio, Tiny and Big in Grandpa’s Leftovers definitely teeters on the side of weird. It follows the story of Tiny and his robot friend, who’ve teamed up to hunt down his arch nemeses, Big. Apparently, Big stole a pair of tighty- whities (ambiguously called “pants” in the game) that was handed down to Tiny from their grandpa. By placing these “pants” on his head, Big is granted magical powers that he hopes will allow him to take over the world. Of course Tiny couldn’t just let that happen. So, he strapped his robot pal to his back, grabbed some self made gadgets and set off to find Big.

At the start of the game, Tiny learns that Big has gone to the desert in search of ancient ruins. Being that Big has the power of levitation, he can traverse the rocky terrain with ease. That’s not the case when it comes to Tiny; gamers will have to solve environmental puzzles using Tiny’s gadgets in order to reach Big. All of the tools needed to complete the game are in your possession right from the start. There is a makeshift raygun, a grappling hook, and rocket powered clamps. The raygun is used for cutting while the grappling hook and rocket clamp are for pulling and pushing objects respectively. Almost anything in the environment can be cut, pulled, or  pushed around. Combine that with sandbox styled levels and you’ve got a truly unique gameplay experience on your hands.

For instance, the first level opens with Tiny trapped in an enclosed mountain valley. There is a natural opening high up on the mountain side that would allow him to escape. In the middle of the valley are stone carvings and natural rock formations. Using the raygun, I was able to slice into one of the towering stone pillars like a knife through hot butter. I then attached my grappling hook to the top half of the pillar and pulled it down towards the wall with the opening, basically making a ramp. Although the physics of the game are realistic in nature, they still allow you to do some pretty impossible things. Toppling something this large would have taken a whole team of people using ropes (or a large machine). Just because it was easy to pull down doesn’t mean it was light though; any large object could crush Tiny if he is unfortunate to be in the wrong place when it comes down.

Most of the puzzles boil down to the need to get somewhere. There are no keys to find, indicators marking the way, or any other game mechanics used to make a puzzling situation. The puzzles are implemented naturally into the game’s world, which surprisingly enough, leads to a myriad of possibilities. Need to get across a large chasm? Slice up another pillar and use the rocket clamp to push it so that the stone falls in front of you, creating a bridge. Need to get up a mountain quickly? Slice up the walls to create stepping stones out of the debris. When it comes to most puzzles in this game, there is no right or wrong way to approach them. For the first time, I felt like I was really in a sandbox; I was able to come up with my own solutions to conquer obstacles!

Due to this new found freedom, some my find themselves stuck on where to go or what to do. Again, there isn’t a flashing arrow pointing to the exit. That said, I rarely got stuck and when I did it was only for a few minutes. Most of the time my being stuck was the result of over thinking (I’m no Rube Goldberg). For those that may become completely lost, Black Pants offered a neat way of finding out where you need to go. Certain collectables are placed around each level in such a way that reaching them will often give you a better view of where to go next. This accomplishes two goals; it gives you a non “hand holding” way of locating an area of interest as well as promoting exploration.

Speaking of exploration, there are collectibles and secret mini-games hidden throughout each level. One such collectible comes in the form of music. Finding hidden tapes will give your robot backpack more tunes from the game’s soundtrack to play during your journey. This is almost a requirement as Tiny and Big features an awesome collection of indie music. I don’t know what genre of music to fit them in (it’s like a combination of jazz, folk, retro, indie ear candy) but I know it’s worth listening to!

Tiny and Big is also worth looking at. The entire game world has a hand drawn, comic book vibe. Adding to this experience is the fact that all of the sounds are conveyed in a pop art, word balloon effect. I don’t mean a flat word bubble that floats across the screen. I mean large, dynamic, 3D letters floating past our hero as he runs across a crumbling bridge. It’s as if the sounds are physical objects in the world. Awesome!

So far, I’ve talked about all the great things found in Tiny and Big. Unfortunately, like most things, the game isn’t perfect. The cool sense of freedom found early in the game is almost completely lost towards the end as the story comes to a close. This is because the puzzles during this time all need to be solved in specific ways. I understand that this can’t be helped, to a degree; the developers are trying to tell a story after all. It just feels like a step backwards. What makes this worse is how the story is handled at the end. A lot of story is pushed your way towards the end of the game and then it just kinda…well, ends. Obviously, this game wasn’t made with the story as the main focus and I shouldn’t expect a grand telling of things. I just wish it was concluded a little better.

All and all, Tiny and Big is a super charming adventure/puzzle sandbox game that I loved playing. Everything from the awesome gameplay and cool music to the absurd premise and nice graphics screams “buy me”! It wasn’t a perfect game though; the later puzzles lacked the same free-form approach found early in the game. And, while I won’t initiate a Kickstarter campaign to get the ending changed, I was a little disappointed in the story’s conclusion. Those measly complaints shouldn’t keep you from paying this game though. I mean, you wouldn’t want to miss out on a game featuring magic underwear right?