BOKURA captures the enjoyment of a two player puzzle solving experience in pixelated greatness. Starting slowly with story details and background that repeats itself a little too much for my taste, the various story beats quickly become intriguing. Our first encounter, which I will not spoil, drew the two of us in with great curiosity and a modicum of disgust. The adventure appeared to be a tale of two friends simply climbing a mountain to destroy a statue of the mayor. This illusion quickly dissipates to reveal one of the most unique co-op experiences where both players experience similar but different worlds and must work together to progress up the mountain.
There are two key factors one should consider when approaching BOKURA; who to play with and keeping an open mind. The first point, who to play with, will ultimately influence how much one takes away from this game. My friend and I have tackled cooperative games since the days of split screen gaming and we enjoy a mix of messing with one another when possible and strong puzzle creation that requires communication, timing, and patience. The second point, an open mind, comes from the game development side of BOKURA and its singular creator. Had I known this going in, my singular critical mindset would have been more lenient when encountering slow movement and the occasional input lag. This issue ties back nicely with picking the right person to play with as our struggles often got overshadowed by silly antics.
Moving forward into story details and spoiler territory, this section contains BOKURA’s greatest element. The adventure of two friends takes a sudden turn that splits the players into different instances of the same game. From my perspective I adventured through a derelict forest as a robot. From my friends perspective, he adventures through a more jovial world as a happy teddy bear. Through our communication we started to realize these changes moments before the in game characters discuss the topic. Unfortunately for my friend, we quickly discovered his experience only appeared to be more jovial. The grotesque encounters he witnesses and describes during our journey brought horror to the adventure. From his perspective the cute animals would disassemble into new platforms per my interaction, using their spine to reach new heights. These are only the earliest encounters, with some puzzles requiring the use of teleportation, copying characters, and even beheading!
BOKURA serves as an independently created two player game without overstaying its welcome. After only about five hours the credits roll with most of my questions answered. One mystery lingers that involves a character who is met halfway through the game. This character deserves a conclusion to his story that felt missing during the credits. With questions lingering and only one reason to replay this game being to experience the different art style and puzzles my friend went through, I found myself satiated by this experience. Ultimately, I recommend playing BOKURA with a good friend in order to experience these twists and turns for oneself.
Score: 7/10
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Related: BOKURA Co-op-Only Puzzle Adventure Launches via Steam, Switch and Mobile
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