Short and Sweet Review: Where Is My Heart?

The next couple of weeks are gonna be pretty barren for game releases but this gives me a chance to try some these indie and PlayStation-mini titles.  Where Is My Heart caught my attention as soon as I logged on to the store.  I was glad to give it a try to to knock off the dust from my psp.  



Presentation:
If you've seen the game through screen-shots  or video, you'll notice the cutesy visuals.  This a recurring vibe you'll come to love as you play through this eccentric game.  The 2D effect they have in the game makes the cool graphics even more prevalent as you'll notice the funny looking faces(funny in a good way) on these most of the monsters.  The subtle yet well-done soundtrack complements the overall presentation of the game immensely.  This creates an instant emotional connection with the player and won't let go so easy.

Gameplay:

In Where Is My Heart you guide a family of lost monsters to their home tree. This is a fairly simple concept.   Along the way the family collects hearts to form new paths and avoid the different obstacles that threaten their precious lives.  This is a puzzle-driven game, that doesn't necessarily challenge the top-tier puzzle lovers, but is just right for me.  Each monster in the family has an alternate form that gives you access to special abilities. One form boasts the power of the double-jump, while another passes through certain walls and finds footing where others cannot.  Like I said, very basic stuff.  The most cool trippy of the powers comes from the Rainbow Spirit transformation, which gives you the ability to rearrange the panels on the screen in order to view the stage in a new way.   Its similar to Paper Mario in that respect changing the dimensions to 3D from 2D and vice versa.  Just collect hearts to raise your score, but the core is still to guide all your family members to the end of the board.

Final Thoughts: 

This humble Mini demonstrates an exceptional, disorienting level design and heart-aching minimalism. Play it for something a little different, even if the experience doesn't last longer than a few hours.  This was a good distraction for me to take me away from all the holiday blockbusters.  With the incredibly cheap price, this was a easy purchase for me.

Final Score= 7.75/10