PS VITA – When you play so much hack and slash games, kill everything in sight, or the usual type of games, then you’ll enjoy a game with creativity and entertainment. It may not be explosive, but you’ll have fun with it for a few hours. Well this is what Murasaki Baby is.

When I first tried the little inverted head girl’s adventure I just looked at the tv screen, and I was not really sure where to put it. Our main character wakes up one day to realize that she cannot find her mother anywhere. As she’s a little girl, she decides to go out into the world, which is full of weird puzzles, and a dark 2D world which at first glance is reminiscent of Tim Burton’s mind but for gamers.

Not the usual route

So we have a main character and a rather dull story. Let’s see how the game handles. I’ll mention the most important parts. Thanks to the PS Vita interface this game does not belong to the usual set of games that we are used to. As our character needs to be guided by her hand and this can be only done if swipe the screen constantly.

However this is not only related to Baby’s control, but to certain items can only be moved if we swipe the screen constantly. This can be annoying a bit. The background for such 2D games are varied and fun. Here this is also present but it is complicated by using the back touchpads to solve some simple puzzles.

Yep, because Murasaki Baby is basically a puzzle game in the PS Vita library. As we move forward new places open up, and will mean new puzzles to solve. I wandered in a totally green tentacle filled environment and I found an abyss. On the other side there was a character similar to Baby holding the lever for the bridge. I opened the inventory and used a scar head, so the other creature would let the lever go.

Then I happily walked over to the other side. Then I found flying paper flying clips heading towards me, which I diverted with the windmills behind me. The puzzles are usually interesting rather than being difficult or complex.

Where does the Murasaki balloon end ?

What I really liked was Baby’s reactions. As she is a tiny girl she displays such emotions during the game. For instance when she let’s go of her balloon (which is her health, or if it pops then it is game over) she cries, when she gets it back she’s happy. If she finds some unknown and frightening thing, she becomes scared. When she successfully jumps over a chasm, she jumps up and down and smiles gleefully. There are no conversation, but of course that should not be expected from a tiny baby girl.

Graphically nobody should expect new grounds to be broken. I would call it rather generic, than good. The animation however is really good, I couldn’t really make a negative comment about it. Everything is in its place, yet the gameplay is not boring. Maybe this is what saves the game entirely. The music is non-existent and is replaced by sound effects. Although these are well made they become monotonous by the end of it.

To whom do I recommend Murasaki Baby? To those who like originality, puzzles, a few hours of entertainment, and total weirdness.

-Parzifal-

Publisher: SCE Australia, SCEI, SCEE, SCEA

Developer: Ovosonico

Genre: puzzle

Publication: Sept. 16, 2014 (PS Plus)