Welcome to our review of Ovivo, the unique platformer that is out now on Nintendo Switch and is filled with hidden messages.
Ovivo is a mesmerizing platformer with unusual mechanics where everything is as simple as black and white. It is a metaphorical game filled with illusions and hidden messages.
In the world of Ovivo, Black and White exist in harmony. By constantly intertwining and replacing each other, they maintain balance. The main character named OVO was born of these two halves and has the ability to switch between them. OVO travels through the metaphorical world, overcoming dangers and collecting mysterious symbols. These symbols will help you unravel the story of this world, but how you interpret it is completely up to you.
Its main feature is its Flow mechanics. In white, gravity points downward, in black – upward. Because momentum is preserved when transitioning from one color to another, OVO can float along their border as if being carried by a flow. There is almost no text in the game and the story is told through gameplay and visuals.
Stunning visuals to say the least and while the game is pretty self-explanatory, it is more about the voyage than the actual destination. Ovivo is weird, it’s pretty and it is just so unusually black and white. Go with the flow and jump and sink into the surroundings.
Ovivo is also quite challenging, not to play, but some obstacles need great hand-eye coordination in order to jump that high obstacle so you can move forward. Jump into those black holes to be thwarted to the next part of the visual puzzle and despite never having that puzzle feeling, it is a completely different type of game and I would recommend checking out the demo if your interest was peaked in my review.
The price point for games like these is always a hit and miss, but the aforementioned demo does take away the feeling of taking a leap of faith, that is something you will be doing while playing the game already. That leap of faith, hoping you will fall on that platform after a big jump…. Quite exhilarating to say the least.
Personally, I think the game is worth the money, but I love oddball games like Ovivo a lot. Especially when you finish the level and the game pans out to show the artwork that you played through, that is quite rewarding. Sadly it is also the highlight of the game. In itself, it is all about finding your way in the often empty screen. Nothing wrong with that, just sometimes it is feeling devoid of any action and I fear many gamers might be bored when it happens.
In conclusion, my main advice for Ovivo is basically to try out the demo. See for yourself if this game is something you’d spend your money on. I did enjoy my gameplay but I am unsure if I would have spent the money myself. We got the review code for this game and well, to put it frankly, I just don’t know.
