Shift Happens is a puzzle/platformer by developer Klonk Games and publisher Daedalic. It centers around guiding two humanoid slime/blob creatures through a variety of test chambers to reach the storage room at the back of a gigantic lab/factory.
One of the key abilities of the slimes is the ability to switch between a small child-like form and a larger form resembling a troll. Both of these forms have different strengths depending on the situation. The child form is lighter and faster than the troll form. It can also fit into smaller passageways than the troll form. The troll form is capable of pushing heavier crates than the child form is capable of pushing. It can also pick up and throw smaller crates as well as the other slime—provided the slime being thrown is in the child form. Additionally, the troll form is heavier than the child form, something that comes into play due to the fact there are weight sensors in the levels that ignore the child form.
As the main difference between the 2 forms is weight, most of the puzzles involve mechanisms that deal with weight—although there are still platforming and timer-based puzzles as well. While a weight sensor was one of the mechanisms, weight was utilized in other ways as well. To give an example, there are spots where you can find 2 matching pads. These pads will launch the object on top of it with the same amount of force applied to its matching pad. As you can probably guess, this usually means landing on one of the pads in troll form while the other slime waits on the other pad. While ordinarily this would, at best, only allow the 2nd slime to bounce as high as the height that the 1st slime came down from, keep in mind that if one slime is in the heavy troll form, the other slime is in the light child form. This would result in the 2nd slime being sent higher than the height the first slime dropped from. And you can switch the 2nd slime to troll form while its in the air—thereby reverting the 1st slime to child form—allowing you to continuously jump higher and higher with the pads.
After the first few levels of the game, the 2 slimes get affected by a machine which links them together. This link makes it so when one slime tries to change form, both slimes change form. When the link is activated, one slime is in child form while the other is in troll form, thereby forcing both forms to always be present in the field. I thought that this made for some interesting puzzle designs as trying to shift one slime to another form forces the other slime to adopt the form the first slime left behind. This usually resulted in one of the slimes getting killed because the 2nd slime would be in an area where only its previous form was capable of surviving.
The game can be played both solo and through local co-op. Many of the levels in the solo mode are different than they are in the co-op mode, resulting in the 2 modes having different save slots. The reason for the levels being different is most likely due to the fact that while playing solo you can only control 1 slime at a time while in co-op mode, both slimes can be active simultaneously.
In every level there are a total of 75 coins you can collect, although gathering these appears to have no benefit outside of bragging rights. There is also a cube hidden in each level that, when collected, contribute to unlocking bonus levels in the game (A word of warning though, I tried one of these bonus levels and found it to be leagues ahead of the standard levels in difficulty). To collect a cube, you first need to touch it with one of the slimes. After a slime touches the cube, the cube will float in-between the 2 slimes. While the cube is between the 2 slimes, it needs to be maneuvered to a square slot elsewhere in the level—although in the levels I played the slot and the cube were always a stone’s throw from each other—in order for the cube to be collected. If either of the slimes dies while the cube is being maneuvered, the cube will go back to its original position.
Overall, I enjoyed playing this game. As such, I think a fair rating for it would be 8/10.
Check Out the Shift Happens Nintendo Switch Trailer:
Shift Happens is available digitally through the Nintendo eShop. The game is also available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Steam.
Nintendo Switch Review
I am a recent Computer Science/Game Development Programming Chapman University Graduate. I am a life long enthusiast of computer/video gaming and my favorite game genres are adventure, choice-driven stories, fighting, and racing. My favorite game/movie series include but aren't limited to 'Legend of Zelda'; 'Dragon Age'; 'Persona'; 'Sonic the Hedgehog'; 'Mario'; 'Metroid' ;'Megaman'; 'Naruto'; 'Batman'; 'Spiderman'; 'Star Wars'; and 'Star Trek.'
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