Papo & Yo

Papo & Yo, a puzzle-platformer from Minority, crossed over to PC from PlayStation Network with grace. This tale of a boy and a monster takes places in an imaginative world filled with South American-style houses, reason-defying physics, and a heartfelt story that explores the relationship between child and parent.

Inspired by the creative director and writer?s childhood memories of an alcoholic, violent father, the player takes role of Quico, a young boy. Quico?s abusive dad makes him retreat into a fantasy world. With his robot toy, Luna, at his side, he meets Monster, a giant pink demon-like creature. Thrown together by circumstance, they face obstacles together to get through life (and the levels of the game).

The primary goal is to reach the next destination by turning magical keys and setting up platforms, often made up of houses. The surrealist environment responds to Quico?s actions when he turns keys or presses in gears: huts suddenly grow feet or wings and move, grass rolls up revealing an underground passage, and whole segments of the city bend and move like elastic Legos. Your imagination is the limit in this creative puzzler; setting objects to work is simple and wonderful to watch.

Jumping in Quickly
The keyboard and mouse set up works great for Quico: WSAD handles movement and the space bar controls jumping; the rest is handled with left and right mouse clicks. Papo & Yo's gameplay mostly revolves around activating all switches in an area to make a passage accessible. There?s lots of jumping, which works well, but collision detection hiccups can produce weird interactions with ledges or get Quico stuck in moving elements. But, for the most part, this never impaired the gameplay, and when I was stuck in the side of a rotating block, I managed to free myself. The platforming is rather simple, and Quico can?t grab onto ledges. In practice, this means that you only jump on mostly flat surfaces that are easy to distance-judge.

The game doesn?t offer much in terms of branching out or going astray from the prescribed path. Bigger areas have tons of hidden ledges and shelves, but they don?t often lead anywhere. Invisible walls are used frequently, which is a shame, since the game could have more creative borders. My natural curiosity to find hidden areas, or to go where I?m not supposed to, was not satisfied, although there is one form of an optional collectible in the game. ?Unfortunately, though, platform enthusiasts or seekers of secrets and hidden goodies may find the game a little dry in those aspects. Like a storybook, the game places you on a strictly set path.

Puzzles start off really simple, and get increasingly complex. The puzzles are a little simplistic in principle because most often, you just try to press each gear and turn every handle you see as though it?s a checklist. My favorite segment involved stacking houses on top of each other, then using a lever to make them bend in a certain direction to access more pieces, further extending the tower, until I was able to cross over to the next area. It?s a joy to watch the houses shift to Quico?s imagination ? it?s wondrous, inventive, occasionally jaw-dropping, and seamlessly integrated with gameplay. It gets even more interesting when the Monster comes into play.

The Boy and the Beast
The heart of the game lies at interacting with the beast, who is both an aid and antagonist. When asleep at specific spots, Quico can jump off his belly to reach higher ledges. Monster can be lured anywhere as long as you have yellow fruit that can be picked up and thrown ? for example, Monster may need to stand in a specific spot to activate a platform . Beware, though, of his addiction to poisonous frogs. Consuming one sends Monster into an uncontrollable, fiery rage, and if Quico is nearby, he?ll run right to him and attack. Emotions rise as the music turns from gentle South-American wind instruments to fast-tempo, crazed tribal beats with drums. This simulates something of a boss fight, where Quico solves some quick puzzles and avoid Monster in order to calm him. Through these mechanics, you learn to cooperate with the behemoth.

The story is the strongest point of the game. Quico finds solace and comfort in Lula, his toy-robot, and follows a mysterious girl who guides him, but when the friends clash with Monster, the relationship between Quico and the beast gets even more complicated. You learn to live with this difficult bond; it?s someone you will start to dislike, even hate, but still need and maybe even want to help. Although not a very outspoken protagonist, Quico shows his youthful optimism in that he doesn?t hate the beast even though it may hurt him or his friends. The game?s larger themes are revealed when you learn how this relates to Quico?s real life and his actual father, which Papo & Yo slowly reveals and develops. It truly tugs at your heart at many times, especially at the climactic, masterfully-executed finish.

The Moral of the Story
The visuals are a great component to the fanciful, Inception-like world, and Minority took particular care at playing with light to show remarkable sunsets and shadows. Shades from Monster?s body are artfully used. It is clear that the art directors did a thorough, immaculate conceptualization, synthesizing it with the gameplay. Rain, clouds, and rainbows play together with the surrealist, desolate, South-American environment.

The deep, thematic storyline and engaging artwork overshadow the gameplay, unfortunately. It?s a shame that Monster only reacts to the player in prescribed triggers (frogs, fruit, etc) and doesn?t continually interact with Quico to further simulate the relationship. Papo & Yo is definitely more about the story than the gameplay, although younger players? impressions may be different. The game?s themes of alcoholism and abuse, handled in subtle, meaningful metaphors, will definitely resonate more with some people than others, but it should at least evoke emotion in anyone remotely empathetic.

Papo & Yo, ultimately, is worth the time to invest, and the game?s tackling of issues that overshadow the gameplay itself are admirable and well-executed. It?s like a Pixar movie or a classic storybook in video game form, and even though it may not be the most engaging platform-puzzler out there, it still is a pleasure to listen to, watch, and play.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/uQe4UFqjlm4/0,2817,2417926,00.asp

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