Letters show us the power of words in a diary puzzle platformer. It’s fun and easy to play. But make sure you’re ready to go through some heavy emotions. There’s even a disclaimer in the beginning that warns everyone who starts a new game that they will possibly go through some heavy content. Different stories will generate depending on the words you use to progress through the game. This means not only multiple endings, but multiple paths to get there as well.
Our protagonist Sarah is a fifth grader from Switzerland. She makes a pen pal and has a conflicting relationship with her sister. How you play the game will determine how Sarah grows up. The people around her will react to the choices as well. Some decisions are merely cosmetic while others can be more relatable to big life choices.
Playing this puzzle platformer isn’t difficult. It’s really just focusing on the story told through letters and direct messages. Some words have a blue or orange highlight signaling you can interact with them. The puzzle part is when none of the highlighted words can continue the story. With a little focus, Sarah can find the proper word within a word and have exactly what she needs to move on. I, however, am not that clever. I just kick everything until I got the word I need to move on. A valid strategy in my opinion.
Obstacles in the game usually consist of images that need something to move out of the way. The bird without a wing is one of the earliest puzzles. To solve it, take the word “drawing”, then kick out the letters “dra”, grab the word “wing”, and give it to the bird. The bird, happy with its new wing, flies off clearing the way. If at any part of the game the player just can’t find the right word, there’s a helper action. With unlimited uses, it will point where to go and clearly mark which words to try. There are times when different words can be used to progress. Deciding which will be used dictates the different journeys Sarah will take.
For a game based on observation and reading, I was often yearning for more details in between the chapters. Perhaps the game’s subtle way of telling me I’m too nosey. I would’ve liked more character development for the immediate family mostly. Parents and siblings are implied people that we care about. When something happens to a parent, sister, or brother, it’s not difficult to empathize. But for a game that’s based on storytelling, I don’t want to just understand what Sarah is going through. I want to feel it too. By the end I wasn’t satisfied but was content with the outcome.
Some chapters will feel slow because puzzle pieces are so far apart. There are some quality of life improvements that help when traversing up a page. But there’s nothing that helps going down a page. This means zig-zagging through sentences of plot you’ve already read is the only way down. Depending on the length of the page it becomes a chore. Music for the majority of the game drove me into a lull causing me to get up and move around between sessions.
The art on the other hand is fantastic. There are beautifully hand drawn elements and I like how they play with watercolor and other effects and styles. The art style has moments when it elevates the game through contextual storytelling. I enjoyed zooming out and looking at the details in the room where Sarah is writing her messages.
I applaud 5am Games for creating this piece of art. The gameplay they’ve introduced is simple and it comes with potential. Different chapters showcase the gameplay in different ways and what they can do with it. My favorite is the more action platformer style. While I wouldn’t consider this game to be a game of the year contender, there’s still something special here.
This is a thumbs up game for me. If you have the time to try something fresh or are even remotely interested in this style of play, you can enjoy this one. The art and gameplay took the cake for me on this one. 5am Games is proving they got what it takes to innovate storytelling in video games.
