Tiny Brains does a great job with taking the puzzle/strategy genre and adding bit more spice to it. The spice in this puzzle game is that you get to basically control four different animals. Each animal brings its own set of powers to the game. The open-minded mouse (literally, his mind is open — you can see his brain) can switch places with objects via teleporting. The Frankenstein’d rabbit can bring objects to him. The purple bat can push objects away at very high speeds. Finally the blue hamster/gerbil can create ice blocks that can be pushed, bounced on or exploded. Each power brings its own unique solution to certain problems in Tiny Brains, which allows for one of the more diverse puzzle solving experiences.
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These four animals are the key to the entertainment value of this game. They offer up multiple solutions to puzzles, so it makes the game non-linear. You can use them in different ways to find the best solutions to problems. For example, there was a level where an energy block that could activate a bridge sitting folded across some lava (I think it was lava). The energy block ‘plug’ was sitting on the other side of the folded bridge, though the lava prevented me from actually getting that bridge unfolded. I could use the hamster/gerbil to create an ice block to put the energy block on, switch to the bat instantly to push the ice and then come across the very same way. It was feasible and a definite solution to this issue. Instead, I jumped on some ice, pushed myself across as the bat and climbed up a ledge that was in the background — the ledge was hardly noticeable. I then switched to the rabbit and brought the block up on the ledge and slowly led it over to the plug. It took far less skill, but more importantly it took far less time. It’s one of many examples of how you can have multiple solutions to puzzles in the game. The ability to have multiple solutions to problems will alleviate frustration, which is common in games like this.
One aspect of Tiny Brains that I would like to commend Spearhead on is how the difficulty in the game fluctuates. You don’t get a steady increase, Spearhead actually allows your brain to let off some steam after harder puzzles. Usually these types of games keep you climbing up hill, but this one gets you over smaller hills then allows you to run down them with your face against the wind and enjoying the trip. It’s a good way not to feel burned out or frustrated by the puzzles, though there are times where the puzzles are a bit stale that you might be bored with them. For example, during the game you have to rescue a small pink chick — an actual chicken, by the way (actually, you have to do this multiple times during the game). On one level, you have to rescue the chick, who is stuck in a tiny box, from burners below. You have to keep moving her back and forth and preventing her from getting baked. The first time you play this sort of level, it’s amusing. The second time, it’s just completely boring. And there are a few puzzles within the game that do that to you, but not many. The majority of the time Spearhead keeps you on a pretty solid balancing act that helps you want to continue the game. These tiny (no pun intended) road bumps don’t tip that balance very much.
Shifting gears just a bit, there are several ways you can play the game. You can play offline by yourself, or should you feel social you can play open to the public. This means anyone can jump in the game with you and do some nifty co-op (it’s much better). You can also just restrict that option to friends only, if you wanted. If you don’t like the initial story of the game, you can also do Tiny Challenges, which is what you think it is. You can also play Tiny Soccer, but I’d rather just play the story or challenges. There are other modes to unlock in the game, but I won’t ruin it for you.
As for the visuals, they’re not quite next generation, though you will see a lot of stuff going on in the background to certainly create and trap your mind in the experimental world these beings live in. Maybe that’s all you really need and maybe the animation, which is probably last generation at best, is set in stone, so everything else has to visual relate to that style. Regardless, just don’t go into the game expecting to see the next great ‘thing’ when it comes to visuals. You get a lot of depth in the activity around you, just nothing you’ll bring your siblings or friends into the room to see.
Having said that, the presentation fits the bill for Tiny Brains. I certainly wasn’t expecting anything special when I was looking to review it, so I wasn’t disappointed by the results.
A big plus on the presentation side of things is the Russian scientist narrating the entire thing. His vicious charm really does keep the gamer on track with what you should be doing and he delivers some fine, though low brow at times, comedy. In other words, he might be a dork character, but he does add some flavor to the presentation category of this game. I’ll take it.
At the end of the day is this game fun? The puzzles are engaging, but the real draw here is the co-op. Gamers love co-op and if you can hop online and just play with a friend or someone from the public instantly, you gotta love that. The game gets better with co-op, so just plan for that when you download Tiny Brains on PS4, which you should.
