And Yet It Moves

Review: And Yet It Moves

WiiWare Review

Broken Rules' first title has been available on PC and Mac since last year but the team have been working hard since its release to bring it out on WiiWare. Given the premise, twisting the world to help protagonist get to the end goal, porting it to the Wii seems liked the logical option.They say that the best ideas for a puzzle are the simplest as long as they are effectively implemented; Tetris, sudoku and The Rubix Cube all spring to mind. And Yet It Moves also manages to make an extraordinary puzzler out of something so everyday that we barely give it a moment's thought - gravity.

And Yet It Moves review

Players are able to move the nameless protagonist across the level in the pursuit of the end goal using the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. The Nunchuck is used to move the character while the A button on the Remote pauses time and you twist the Wii Remote like a key to turn the world around. You can also twist the world using the D-pad or use alternative inputs such as the Classic Controller but it feels like you're depriving yourself of the actual game's intention.

The game has a total of 21 levels across 4 worlds with a gradual learning curve that frequently introduces new challenges that will make you stop and think 'how do I overcome this?' During the game you will progress from simply getting from A to B to facing animals that must be overcome in various ways, musically-timed disappearing platforms and trippy mirrored puzzles.

There are also five play modes on offer: Journey (story mode), Speed Run, Time Trial, Limited Rotations and Survival (you only get one life). These all add longevity to the game and also challenge the skills you learn along the way. Survival mode in particular is difficult in later levels when you face vanishing platforms, violent boulders and angry monkeys.

Visually the game is without rival. While the initial idea to use torn paper was economical it really helps the game stand out (as well as resulting in the amusing pun whereby deaths are known as 'RIPS'). The music is similarly spot on, although it is difficult to describe how. There is something about it that feels organic and almost as if it grew out of the game itself.

And Yet It Moves review

And Yet It Moves also has a series of achievements to rival most Xbox 360 titles. The list ranges from the simple, 'complete the first world', to the more challenging, 'complete the first world in five minutes' to the down right tricky such as 'fall from the start point of a level to the goal point and die there'. While I've never really bought into the whole "achievements make the game more enjoyable" argument I did genuinely find trying to unlock these achievements an enjoyable distraction when a level was proving to be too difficult.

Like most good games And Yet It Moves leaves you wanting more, although the achievements and play modes breathe extra life into the game. Failing that it's fun turning the world upside down and flinging the protagonist around the levels. Although it may have been even better if Broken Rules kept the title as the Italian 'E pur si muove', the expression famously credited to Galileo (even if he may not have actually said it), because it has more grandeur, but that's very much a personal gripe rather than a serious one.

N-Europe Final Verdict

A title that will both challenge your brain and your gaming skills while making you appreciate gravity a bit more.

  • Gameplay4
  • Playability4
  • Visuals4
  • Audio5
  • Lifespan3
Final Score

9

Pros

Intuitive controls
Easy to play, difficult to master
Provides a good challenge
A great soundtrack

Cons

Would be nice if it was longer
Rotating the world with the Wii Remote can be tricky


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