Overview – developed by Double Mizzle and published by Eastasiasoft, Color Pals is a puzzle platform title, where color changing is the key to success. Take on the challenges of 50 stages, in this colorful puzzle title. This release is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and Xbox systems, with a link to each version of the game available at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Eastasiasoft for providing the copy of Color Pals that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review. I will be skipping the story as there is no plot for Color Pals, so I will be going straight into covering the gameplay.
Gameplay – Color Pals is a 2D single screen platformer, where the player must reach a portal by only touching the color that matches their cube. Made up of 50 stages, the objective is simple to pick up, but can be hard to master as the difficulty will increase over time. This is due to the new hazards and increasingly intricate layouts that will be introduced as the game progresses.
Within the stages, the player must collect keys that match the active color to open doors, with lightning bolts that will change the color of the player cube. The player must take great care while trying to reach the keys and exit, as there will be spring blocks that launch the player into the air, spikes that will move on tracks and very tight platforming.
In each of the stages, there will also be three stars that the player can collect as an optional objective. These can be incredibly difficult, as precision platforming will be needed to reach some of the stars, as contact with a color that doesn’t match the current will restart the stage. The stages can be replayed an infinite number of times, so if all three stars aren’t claimed then players can try again later.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to move onto the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – the controls are very simple for this title, with movement on the thumbstick/D-pad and two buttons needed for jumping/resetting. This makes for an easy to pick up and casual experience, that all players will be able to play. There is a slight issue with what feels like a minor input lag or delay, but this doesn’t impact the overall experience of this game.
Difficulty – this isn’t the toughest game to play, but it can be challenging in places. This is most prevalent in stages that have stars in difficult to reach places, or in levels with more intricate layouts and hazards. There is an endless number of retries that players have access to, which does lessen the pressures that the game can put on players. However, it can be tough to get perfect star ratings on all stages.
Presentation – visually the game is very simple, using a rather basic color pallet and simplified block sprites for the level geometry/player sprites. The game works very well in both handheld and docked on a TV, making it comfortable to play everywhere. There is a pleasant mix of music that plays during the stages, but can become repetitive over time only broken up by the occasional voice clip that plays.
Final Thoughts – I do enjoy puzzle platformers and to some extent those that require precision too, with this one filling that gap quite well. There is a lot of content on offer, with the 50 total stages and the optional star objective which I enjoyed very much. There is a minor issue where the player can get stuck on blocks, but that won’t stop me recommending this rather fun budget platformer to everyone.
In the end, I give Color Pals a final score of 3.5/5. This is a fun and rather challenging puzzle platformer, with an abundance of stages for players to take on, as well as challenging optional objectives that can extend play time a fair amount. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Xbox version (HERE)
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