Washed Up

Despite having plenty going on thematically, Rime is a slightly dull puzzle platformer.

- Samuel Roberts

In Rime, a boy washes up on a remote island and walks about. You’re guided through this new land by a fox—think a dog, but less good—who yaps while signposting where to go next. You climb things, push things around, line up shapes, and even control light to activate switches that open the way. It’s rather Indie Game: The Game from there: Twee imagery, gentle exploration, nice music, until some more thematically interesting stuff emerges later in the story.

I usually enjoy all of those things, and thought I’d like Rime too, but I’ve bounced off of it a bit. As a puzzle platformer, it’s a bit too easy going, rarely offering anything too taxing to figure out. I was never dazzled by the answer to a puzzle, though a few are complex enough that you’ll feel satisfied by resolving them. You can only jump onto certain surfaces marked by what looks like seagull poo, which is good for signposting, but it means jumping and climbing is pretty basic. These interactions aren’t fun to do, either. Maybe the idea is you’re meant to have a sense of the boy’s limitations, but platforming should still feel nice in a platformer.