Tadpole Treble Encore, by BitFinity (Matthew Taranto), is a delightful music game from the onset, hatching the player into an undoubtedly charming world as a tenacious tadpole named Baton. Within minutes of busting herself out of the egg, she’s swooped in a pelican’s gullet and taken far up stream. From there, the player follows Baton as she attempts to make her journey back to Tadpole Pond by swimming through a diverse array of waterways ripe with obstacles and predators. Through the use of amazing art/sound direction and satisfying music-based gameplay, Tadpole Treble Encore provides a lighthearted and enjoyable gaming experience
Just keep on swimming
The gameplay is simple: Baton swims at a constant speed along a musical staff where the player can direct her up and down to dodge oncoming obstacles. Rewards are placed throughout the level to incentivize players to take risks weaving through obstacles and enemies.
At the player’s command, Baton can perform a tail whip to interact with the environment. Among the most satisfying of the tail whip interactions include hitting the cymbals littered across the map in time with the music. This mechanic is reminiscent of the tight controls in more traditional rhythm games that’s otherwise absent from a majority of Tadpole Treble Encore’s gameplay. It’s worth noting that despite the clear importance of music within the game, the gameplay is somewhat far from a traditional rhythm game and more akin to an arcade rail-shooter. At worst, the controls have awkwardly loose handling, however, for the most part, the team at BitFinity has integrated the controls satisfyingly with the art, music, and feel of the game. To this degree, the loose controls actually lend itself well to the subtle storytelling within every level. Overall, the gameplay is simple enough for anyone to pick up, but as the levels get progressively difficult, there is more than enough nuance to keep the player engaged and replaying levels.
Charming Elements
Although Tadpole Treble Encore has a very short narrative experience, with the whole game spamming only 1-3 hours of play time, the story/world still manages to be heartwarming and characterful. This feat can be credited to the enchanting art direction of Matthew Taranto and the (frankly) exceptional musical choices of the team. The art and soundtrack worked excellently together to provide the player with a distinctive experience in every level of the game.
This sentiment can be expressed in the moment when Tadpole Treble Encore really clicked for me: Baton was swimming through a moonlit bayou. Everything seemed as it was in the earlier levels, and I felt as if I’d figured out how the game was going to go for the rest of its short playtime; that was until she started being serenaded by a mysterious tadpole. She initially dismissed him, swimming by while rolling her eyes, but he persisted to sing! This level was all so charming: ripe with detail and silliness. The levels following the moonlit bayou proved to be just as distinctive and lively, all having a fresh art direction accompanied by an original song. Up until the very end of the credits, characters remain endearing while the art and music work together to be adorable, silly, and charming all at the same time.
Verdict
The loose controls and high difficulty in the later levels might lend to some player frustrations, however, the developers at BitFinity truly have created a small gem of a game as every level within this world will likely charm you with either its characters, soundtrack, or art direction (likely all three at once). It was a true delight to explore the world of Tadpole Treble Encore, and for anyone that needs a weekend pick-me-up, this is the perfect slice of charm.
Score: 8.5/10
Check Out a Couple of Short Tadpole Treble Encore Gameplay Videos:
For more information, please visit: https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/tadpole-treble-encore-switch/
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