It is always a pleasure to play creative high-concept titles; doubly so when they come with a cosy atmosphere. Origament offers exactly this experience, as players take control of a letter full of hope and dreams that must travel the world to reach its destination. Is this a solid title, or does it end up being paper thin? Read on as this paper from Cubed3 gives the answer!
It is quite easy to fall in love with Origament from the very moment the game starts. It begins with a beautifully crafted, simple tutorial that guides the player through all the different origami shapes they can fold: a ball, a plane, a boat, and a shuriken. Everything is very self-explanatory, yet it makes for a wonderful physics-heavy platforming experience where the player’s imagination is mostly the limit.
The true beauty of the Origament system is that it gives the player great freedom to apply different shapes to solve platforming challenges in a wide variety of ways. Most platforming segments do have more than one solution, and often, the most apparent solution is not the easiest. Sometimes players need to do some clever sequencing to get to a certain collectable or beat one of the many optional challenges the game throws in their way.
However, to just beat Origament, not much understanding of the system is needed, making it a wonderful, short-and-sweet title for gamers of all ages and abilities. “Short” and “sweet” truly are keywords here, though, for better or worse. If one does not want to go for all collectables, it can be beaten quite easily within a couple of hours, even for less experienced players, and it sadly lacks replayability outside of taking in the sweet atmosphere one more time.
If there is one phrase that could describe Origament, it is “an experience”. It is very difficult to put into words and pictures the mesmerising nature of this title. Few games are so straight-up relaxing to play. Even during more frustrating optional challenges, the game never gets stressful. The wonderful scenery, butter-smooth controls, and the slow pace make for a very relaxing experience. It feels like a full brain massage to let the little letter fold into different shapes and travel through areas ranging from a garden to a pirate hideout.
While the atmosphere is clearly something the developers have put a lot of focus on to great success, there are parts where it does come at the expense of gameplay. One of the most annoying aspects of Origament is that it is full of random invisible walls that prevent potential paths more inventive players might discover. It gives off a cheap feel, especially as similar shortcuts might have just worked a couple of minutes ago. It makes it feel like there is no internal logic for where the player can and can’t go. This is a problem, especially when many collectables rely on exploring areas off the paved path. It makes the finding of these collectables more of a trial-and-error process in figuring out which off-road paths the player is and isn’t supposed to explore. Quite a nuisance.
In addition, there is one puzzle in the pirate hideout that is just horrible. It is a regular sliding puzzle. The issue is that the controls for it are horribly implemented, and it also frequently glitches in a way that causes blocks to stack on the same part of the grid. It is a shame, as otherwise the pirate level is extremely fun and thematic.
While far from a flawless title, this is still one of those wonderful evening-long gaming experiences that it is difficult to forget. The final level, which shall not be spoiled, put a massive cosy smile on this reviewer’s face. Despite minor points of frustration, Origament is one massive brain massage that anyone who needs a bit of stress relief should pick up.
