Game Review: Corbid: A Colorful Adventure

By Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC

Being a huge fan of puzzle platformers, I was excited when I learned that the game we're going to talk about today falls into that somewhat rare genre. Arriving soon on the Nintendo Switch, PC, and PlayStation consoles is Corbid: A Colorful Adventure. (Hereafter referred to as simply "Corbid".) This game is developed by CuCurry and published by Meridiem Games, neither company being one I've heard of before, but I'm willing to give this a fair go. As its name implies, Corbid​ is quite the colorful adventure that takes you on several maze-like, puzzle-filed garden adventures. We're going to be taking a look at the Nintendo Switch version in this review, and hopefully see if this is a game that's worth picking up. Enough of the intros, let's get right into it.

I guess this is the reason he goes to the garden?

This is the overworld by the way.

I honestly can't tell you what the story of Corbid is, as very little of it is actually told to you directly in game. Suffice it to say that you play as a cute pig-like creature named Corbid. You enter a garden after seeing a sign for a tournament, and are instantly greeted by a Camknat. Camknats are computerized cameras that also give you various hints as you're playing, and sometimes even help you directly advance to the next area. Before long you're joined by a mysterious slime creature that the Camknats decide to name Poppi. Poppi becomes your sidekick, and that pretty much sets up the story. There's other stuff about scientists observing you, the nature of the portals that take you to and from levels, an earlier champion, and other stuff that is all told in a way that is hard to make heads or tails of. Since we're talking about things that can be confusing, I want to mention how bad the game's text is. I'm not sure what the developer's native language is, but I really doubt it's English. I don't say this to ridicule or mock them, just to point out that you're going to have to struggle a lot just reading what the game throws at you. Just about every text box has a grammatical error or two, and they're often so bad that it's difficult to understand what's trying to be communicated. Thankfully this is a rather simple game to figure out, so it's never anything game-breaking. That said, we're not off to the greatest of starts.

Seriously, what is this story?

Firing cannons if you don't have the paint yourself.

At its heart Corbid is a puzzle platformer. I was shocked when I realized that you can't jump in this game, but then I realized the many other actions Corbid can actually do. There's one action you'll probably be doing more than any other, and that's going into "Ball Mode". Ball Mode which works similar to the morph ball from the Metroid series and sees the already-very-round Corbid become a spinning terror. While he's in this mode he can enter pipes and other tight areas, smash vases that block your path, and even launch off of platforms over dangerous water. Corbid's other main action is spitting out paint in various colors. You get said paint from berries, and you're able to carry two colors with you at any time. That's actually how Poppi comes into play, as Poppi acts as a back-up color for you to have in your possession in case you need it. Spitting out colors is usually done to hit color-coordinated switches that open doors, but it can also be used as a form of attack, or even to draw an enemy towards the color splash. I say "enemies", but this game's world is inhabited by slimes that pretty much leave Corbid to his own devices. There is one slime that likes to change Corbid into the color of the inner tube they're wearing, but other than that the slimes exist to mostly help Corbid solve puzzles. The only way to actually "die" is by falling into water. Falling into water resets you back to the last piece of land you were on, and also takes away your current stash of paints. Don't worry about dying much in this game though, as it literally only happened to me once, and that was mainly so I could see what exactly happened when you respawn. And that's pretty much all you do in this game, you collect gems, help downed Camknats (more on that later), open doors via the use of switches, and eventually make your way to the portal that ends a stage. It sounds simple, but each of the game's levels are essentially a series of interconnected puzzle rooms that can take 10-25 minutes to clear. While it may look like a platformer at first glance, and definitely plays like one early on, it's far more similar to a puzzle game than anything else.

Gardens make up Corbid's world, and there are two of them in the game. Yes, this game only has two worlds which are made up of five levels each. There's actually six in each world, but the sixth one is a boss encounter that doesn't have any actual "level" attached to it. I was surprised by how little content there is here, but I was also pleased that it wasn't too hard for me to 100% the game. Within the game's overworld you can see the various diary entries you've collected from the levels, use your gems to buy paint patterns you unlock by saving Camknats, and pick the level you want to go into. While I like that there is an overwold, I have to admit that it feels a little pointless as there aren't many levels to even go to. There are the two aforementioned boss encounters in this game, and they change up the gameplay quite a bit. This is mainly because you don't actually "fight" them in the proper sense, but you play a minigame of sorts that ends in one of you being losing. The only other thing left to explain has to be that whole rescuing the Camknats thing. Each level has a malfunctioning Camknat that you have to fix by re-calibrating it. This re-calibration takes you into a minigame where you take control of the Camknat and attempt to match up a picture with its exact copy in a maze of walls covered in slightly different variations of said picture. The Camknat is fixed once you find the right one, and you unlock a new paint pattern you can purchase in the overworld. You purchase them using the gems you get in each level, and there's a set number of these gems in the entire game. That means you can literally collect every single one if you're thorough enough.

I forgot that you can also push/pull boxes.

Luring the slimes using paint is actually cool.

Now this all sounds like it makes for a simple game that might be better suited for younger players. While I do in fact think that's the case here, I also have to say that it has that "fun for all ages" feel to it. I had a lot of fun with the game, but I have to mention a few big issues I had with it before we go on. My emotions swung back and forth during my entire time with Corbid, as I went to both extremes of loving and hating it in a matter of hours. I actually was very disappointed by the visuals and controls when I first booted up the game, only to eventually find myself slowly falling in love with it after I beat the entire first half of the game in one sitting. It was here where the first problem occurred, as the game soft-locked itself after I cleared a Camknat minigame. Seeing as this minigame was towards the end of a level that took me 15-20 minutes to clear, I didn't complete fix that Camknat a second time until much later in my playthrough. That actually brings me to my next point, as I think the biggest reason why some of the levels take so long is due to the game's wonky controls and constant backtracking. I know I shouldn't complain about things like this when they basically make up the entire backbone of the game, but I couldn't help but feel that the game could've had double or triple the levels if each of the ones here were shortened into smaller segments. I can't begin to explain how hard my spirits fell each time I cleared a multi-switch/room puzzle only to move into a new area and essentially have to do the exact same thing again. Then to make matters worse, the game started randomly crashing on me. I'm not sure if it's because I was playing the game on the Nintendo Switch, but it crashed on me three times in the second half of the game alone. Once again I have to remind you that a crash means 15-20 minutes of gameplay lost, and those three crashes happened over the course of just five levels. I really wanted to love Corbid, and part of me still thinks it's a pretty good game, but it's also very unpolished and buggy to say the least.

The Camknat callibration minigame.

Nothing like shooting slimes.

I'm going to cover graphics and sound together here as I don't really have a lot to say about either. The best I can say about the visuals of the game is that they're very colorful, and Corbid and Poppi are the epitome of cute. I'd seriously buy a plushy of them if it were available. That's about where the niceties end, and where the negatives begin. Just about one could have with the graphics is here in some form: bad draw distance, weird stitching of game tiles, and even inconsistent lighting. None of those issues is ever front and center long enough where you'd write off the entire experience, but they're persistent enough that they always seem to be lingering in the background. Speaking of lingering in the background, the music in this game actually isn't bad, but it has a distinct stock music feel to it. This doesn't have so much to do with its quality however, but due to the fact that there are very few tracks in the game, and they're all rather short. That means you have to hear the same melody over and over again as you clear some very long levels. I guess we can all at least be thankful that the music isn't horrible. Though the music isn't all that bad, I did find that some of the sound effects essentially became the bane of my existence by the time I was done with the game. The second garden has some mechanics unique to itself, like cushions that launch you upwards and speed tiles that push you forward, and both of these have probably the worst sound effects ever attached to them. Then there's the vase breaking sound which sounds real enough that it started to give me uncanny valley vibes. Once again, none of this is game-breaking, but it made me turn down the sound effect levels in the options menu. I guess we can all be glad that those options are there.

While I do think that Corbid is a great puzzle platformer for younger players, I can't help but feel that its current price of $11.99 feels a little high. I've played many other games that fell into the $9.99 price range that offered far more content, and were all around just better games. You're looking at maybe 3-5 hours of gameplay here, and that's if you complete everything the game has to offer. Then again it might crash on you a few times and sneak in a few extra hours. It's rare that I look at a game and think that it's unfinished, but that was a feeling I couldn't shake with Corbid. I don't mean the lack of polish either, though I'm sure it could've benefitted from a bit more development time to work out its many bugs. What I really mean is that at just twelve levels, two of them just being boss encounters, this game feels like there was probably more planned at some point but it was all shelved to hit a deadline. Or maybe the developers ran out of money and decided to just ship it as is. This is all speculation on my part, but I don't think anyone would think a game with just two sets of stages, with just five in each set, is actually complete. I guess we'll never know though.

An example of Red Corbid.

I actually almost lost this battle!

Try as I might, I still can't hate Corbid: A Colorful Adventure. It's not the best-looking or sounding game, but the gameplay that's here shows that the developers weren't just slapping together a quick cash grab. It can be fun and enjoyable at times, and I'd have a far better opinion of it if were more stable. I'm hoping that an update comes out after launch that addresses the issues I had during this review period. If one does come, I'll try to add a note here mentioning it. Otherwise, I guess I have to give it the lightest of recommendations for those looking for a cute puzzle platformer, or maybe for those looking for a game to entertain younger players. There's a decent game here if you can get beyond all its issues. I had fun here, and I think you will too. Besides, how can you look at Corbid and Poppi and not want to join them in their adventures?

Check Out Corbid! A Colorful Adventure on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/corbid-a-colorful-adventure-switch/

Story: C (Though I'm not really sure there is one.)
Gameplay: B
Graphics: C
Music/Sound: C-
Value: C

Overall: C

Pros:
+ A neat puzzle platformer that is bright and colorful.
+ Even though the game has a distinct budget feel to it, the puzzles seem very well-planned and thought out.
+ The challenge is in the puzzles and not through difficult platforming, making this a perfect game for younger players.
+ Collecting every gem, diary entry, and color pattern can be quite the rewarding experience.
+ The boss battles do a good job changing up the gameplay, I just wish there were more of them.
+ Corbid and Poppi are very cute!

Cons:
- The graphics and music leave quite a bit to be desired.
- The game is pretty short, but filled with levels that are far too long.
- The controls are a bit wonky at times, and the lack of a jump can be very jarring.
- I experienced several game-breaking glitches and crashes during my short time with the game.
- I can't help shake the feeling that this game is unfinished due to the overall lack of content.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

Look at them!

#CorbidAColorfulAdventure