It's a Wrap! packages puzzling and platforming in a relatively unique way with a charming ode to film. Controlling the flow and execution of a movie scene remains fresh long enough before tedium breaks through.
By the time It’s A Wrap! wrapped up its nearly 30 levels, I was satisfied.
Puzzle games can so often wear out their welcome, mentally taxing players through various peaks and valleys of challenge. Regardless if they are framed within an engaging narrative, layer on new ideas, or tantalize with that right amount of difficulty, the wear and tear of stringing together brain teasers can happen before credits roll. Thankfully, It’s a Wrap! knows how to stretch its concept, providing players with enough goals to remain fresh.
When I think of “puzzle platformer” as a genre, it evokes moments of controlling the player character and navigating them around increasingly complex environments and challenges. There’s an end goal to reach whether that be a new screen or a distant flag.
What It’s a Wrap! manages to accomplish is giving players the opportunity to not only control the character but to control the puzzles in a fascinating spin on making movies.
In the game, players control an actor named Johnny and the director of a series of films he is acting in. Each stage in It’s a Wrap! begins with a short script detailing the upcoming scene. In this script, players will be guided towards how the scene is meant to play out, a few key moments being highlighted in red. Next, the scene is laid out at the top half of the screen with all the various elements that can be manipulated at the bottom.
An early example to help explain the concept can be found in the second level of the game. In it, Johnny is meant to cross a large gap between two snow-covered mountains. To do so he needs to sail down one slope and over the gap, jumping at just the right moment to reach the other mountain. To complicate matters, a massive avalanche is tumbling down, threatening to hit Johnny. At the bottom of the screen, players can see blue bars representing the boat and the avalanche.
In It’s a Wrap!, players must pace events and scene elements in a specific sequence to ensure that Johnny can reach the flag at the end before time runs out. In the above puzzle, the boat must be signaled to move down the slope shortly after the scene begins, giving Johnny just enough time to hop in it. Next, the avalanche must be queued up soon after so that it begins moving from the right side of the screen to the left. The avalanche will bounce up an incline, over the gap, and high enough to avoid Johnny sailing past. At the last second, Johnny jumps off the boat to the safety of the other mountain.
Conceptually it may sound difficult to explain but in execution, It’s a Wrap!‘s puzzles are surprisingly easy to comprehend. As the director of the scene, players are meant to line up all the elements to ensure the action is a “success” and plays out according to the script. Once the set up is complete, “Action!” is called and control is given to Johnny who makes up the platforming segment of the game. For an aging actor, Johnny is quite spry and can even wall jump, giving players flexibility in where they can go in a given scene.
Smartly, It’s a Wrap! layers on a few different variations of scene control as players continue to film movies. Shortly into the game, players will be introduced to elements of a scene that can’t be moved or manipulated, a constant that must be worked around. Attack helicopters, tanks, enemy soldiers, and similar hazards pose threats that players may need to avoid or integrate into the puzzle’s solution. In one puzzle, players have to guide an enemy along a top path while avoiding contact with Johnny, only to use the enemy as a human shield for a constant stream of deadly blowdarts.
Further scenes and films complicate matters by introducing vehicles to drive or a gun to shoot, giving players more to think about as they navigate puzzles. What It’s a Wrap! gets right is that thrill of experimentation when attempting to hash out a puzzle’s solution. Before acting out a scene with Johnny, players are able to drag an arrow through the timeline to see how the scene will play out or how certain elements work within the timeline. It’s not a perfect science in figuring out if the scene is just right. And even if players have the right combination of elements, they still have to get Johnny to the end.
There is an element of trial and error in It’s a Wrap! that may frustrate some. However, I think it is an integral element in this type of game. Much like Limbo or Little Nightmares, failure is going to happen even when the answer feels obvious. It’s a Wrap! manages to throw some clever solutions into the mix that bestow a great feeling of triumph to the player. But if a puzzle proves to be particularly pesky, a limited number of hints per scene can be used to either show where an element needs to be placed or highlighting an important part of the script. Since players don’t need to do anything to be rewarded with a hint, it can feel a bit cheap to lean on them without having to work for it. And once a puzzle is solved, the mystery is gone and a second playthrough can lose its luster.
Perhaps that’s where It’s a Wrap may feel weakest to some. It lacks the replayability of something like Portal 2 where co-op could extend the lifetime. But its platforming elements may offer a small bit of potential for replay. Still, I can’t help but think that the game’s generous selection of levels provides enough diverse thrills that it never becomes agonizingly dull. Plus, the overarching narrative of the game is a charming exploration of fame, film culture, and the complexity of making movies. There’s enough heart and narrative there that it helps to glue the disparate elements of the game’s puzzles together in an enjoyable cohesive package.
It’s a Wrap offers just the right amount of challenge and length for players looking for their next unique puzzle game. Acting as director and actor in increasingly complex action scenes, players will experiment with sharp timing and obstacle management to get the perfect shot. It would be great to see where this series could go with new film sets and a handful of new mechanics that expand its clever gimmick to crazier ends.
