Review: ‘Gua-Le-Ni’ – A New Gaming Experience

I’ll admit, I wasn’t too familiar with Gua-Le-Ni or The Horrendous Parade until recently when I watched a few trailers and discovered the unique concept.

until recently when I watched a few trailers and discovered the unique concept. Despite having been released long ago, I was intrigued and wanted to get my hands on the game for a review. Gua-Le-Ni debuted back in December 2011 to great critical reception and currently sits at an 83% on Metacritic. With developers Double Jungle and Stefano Gualeni supporting the title after its launch with a new game mode, better tutorials, new body parts, and other extras along with the soon to be released update that will include minor adjustments/tuning as well as support for the beautiful iPad retina display, I thought this game deserved a second look at post-launch. So does it live up to my expectations? Let’s find out.

First of all, Gua-Le-Ni’s presentation is top notch. As soon as you start up the game you’re presented by a highly detailed interactive taxonomy book. From there you’re guided by the humorous narrator of the game which gave a Triple-A LittleBigPlanet type introduction to the whole thing. It was a nice touch and one you don’t find in too many games.

The core gameplay of Gua-Le-Ni revolves around a taxonomy book with combinations of animals leaving the pages. It is your job to keep them from leaving and being lost from history forever by interacting with a set of cubes and creating the very animal that is trying to escape. Some of these animals include a Tister (tiger and lobster) and Wartdor (warthog and condor). They can become as confusing as a Bi-Dor-Ger-Ster (Bison, Condor, Tiger, and Lobster). In total there are three modes of play which revolve around saving the animals.

In Fiction mode you turn, spin, and move around blocks to form the animal that walks across your screen. Your goal is to observe the animal and match the pieces before it leaves the page. You start with two blocks as a warm-up, but can introduce a third and fourth whenever you want. You can also get rid of the blocks if you feel like you can’t keep up, something I often had to do. I was surprised that the game gave you that much control, but was delighted as well. If you’re a veteran of Gua-Le-Ni you may not want to have to start with 2 blocks every time. It’s also nice for beginners who may want to get rid of a block if they are about to fail and don’t want to start over.

The real challenge is in Non-Fiction mode though. It includes all the aspects of Fiction mode, but without the ability to change how many blocks are in play. There’s also a new gameplay mechanic in which you’ll have to feed the beasts. Each creature is either a carnivore or herbivore and it’s your job to feed them accordingly.

The controls work well. The blocks seem a little sensitive at times when pinching them, and once in awhile can lead to a game over. I chose to use two hands when pinching as it tended to work better. While most of the controls can be played with one hand, you’ll need two to twist the blocks when under pressure. For all my one-armed players out there, don’t worry, if these modes are too fast then Poetry mode is right up your alley.

Poetry mode is a little different from fiction mode in that you will focus on memory, creativity, and relaxation. In comparison to the fast paced Fiction and Non-Fiction mode, Poetry mode is much more laid back. While the gameplay mechanics are the same, instead you’ll see a beast walk across the screen that you’ll have to memorize and form with the cubes once it’s gone. Here you’ll catch classical music and the versus of an old sonnet to go along with the play style. While these modes are a nice change of pace, the gameplay doesn’t feel that much different from mode to mode. If you’re looking for something completely new when entering a new game mode, you may be dissapointed. For those who are content with the gameplay and just want to explore further, then you’ll be delighted at the new mechanics.

Overall Gua-Le-Ni brings a fresh look at video game design as a whole. While it may not offer the longevity in the modern sense in terms of unlockables and such, it does offer Game Center support in the form of leaderboards and achievements. With that said, it is hard to compare it to other games as it does enough to separate itself from every other one out there. When it comes down to it, Gua-Le-Ni is not only the type of game the industry needs, but is one everybody should experience.

Currently Gua-Le-Ni is only $0.99 on the App Store, a huge drop from its original $4.99 listing. I suggest everyone to pick it up. For updates on Gua-Le-Ni be sure to like them on Facebookand Twitter!

[review pros=”Unique concept, wonderful presentation, fun gameplay.” cons=”Controls can be finicky, game modes lack diversity from one another.” score=83]