Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams – Owltimate Edition is an adventure-platforming game from Black Forest Games. Originally a Kickstarter baby from way back in 2012, this platformer has finally made its way to the Nintendo Switch thanks to HandyGames and THQ Nordic.
In Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams – Owltimate Edition, players will take on the role of Giana, a young teenage girl with a twin sister. Giana is tasked with saving her twin sister Maria from an evil dragon in a dream world that they enter during the game’s intro sequence. The dragon abducts Maria early in the story and serves as a plot device to drive Giana’s adventures forward. Giana has the ability to change the dream world she’s in by performing a simple pirouette in the air and can change between the two forms. This is a core game mechanic.
The gameplay in Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams – Owltimate Edition is exceptional in every aspect expected from a 2D platformer title. Giana is able to jump, dash and hover as she collects crystals in each of the masterfully crafted platformer levels. Being able to change the dream world by transforming into “Cute” and “Punk” versions of herself, Giana can gain access to previously inaccessible areas of the levels. In a stroke of genius, the developers opted to let “Cute” Giana inhabit the nightmare dream world and let “Punk” Giana loose in the normal dream world. This provides a stark contrast that works so well for the game in both its aesthetic and overall design.
Playing as Giana, players will need to collect crystals and traverse the puzzle platformer dream worlds while cleverly making use of the “Cute” Giana and “Punk” Giana’s form specific abilities. Changing the dream world by changing forms is essential to progressing and there are moments in the game where this mechanic will leave you with a feeling of awe at how well designed the game’s levels are.
The story of the game is not something that will keep you enthralled for hours and hours on end like an RPG would. This is at its core a pure platformer that is remarkably addictive. Being on Nintendo Switch, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams – Owltimate Edition is perfectly suited for short bouts of pick up and play action. Being able to revisit previous levels to collect all the crystals will keep completionists satisfied and adds some longevity to the game. The game is however rather long for a platformer and if you try to 100% everything. It will definitely keep you busy for more than 25 hours since the DLC is included as well and some of the levels are dastardly hard to fully complete.
The soundtrack used in Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams – Owltimate Edition is quite unique in that both versions of the dream world have their own specific music tracks. These tracks that play in the background suit the aesthetic of each world’s Giana and again, contributes to the stark contrast between both versions of the world. If you’re a fan of electronic rock music, the soundtrack will be an auditory feast for you. The game also includes a Hard, Time Attack and High Score mode for those that are clearly masochists and love a bit of challenge to go with their puzzle platforming.
Overall Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams – Owltimate Edition delivers the complete package to Nintendo Switch players. The puzzle platforming gameplay is excellent and the game’s graphics are on point with both versions of the dream world being a visual treat. The stark contrast between worlds and the excellent soundtrack cement itself as a puzzle platforming classic and if you’re a fan of the genre, it’s highly recommended that you check this game out.
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