Okay Geek Farm
Xbox Live Arcade Review - ilomilo
Ricardo Trejo
At first glance, Ilomilo looks to be nothing more than a fancy floral pattern on a decorative rug. However, once the game begins, you’re thrown into an adventure that is both innocent and challenging in nature.
What is ilomilo about?
The game revolves around two characters; the blue Ilona (ilo) and the red Milton (milo). Y’see, they enjoy each other’s company, and day in and day out they meet together at the park to share a cup of tea. But for some strange reason or another, the route to the park is constantly changing. It’s your job to reunite the two friends in their simple quest to find each other through thick and thin, which pulls at your heart strings a little, making this game as endearing as it gets.
How’s the gameplay work?
All stages play out the same way — ilo and milo are placed on differing positions within the map. To get them to meet each other you have to navigate through the stage’s obstacles using items, buttons, switches, and the occasional gravity defying, red carpet. As either character, you are incapable of jumping, and so are limited to moving in only four directions; foward and back, or left and right. As you progress through the beginning stages, hints given to you by the annoyingly, pretentious Sebastion will help you to figure out what’s possible in this world.
For instance; pressing X allows the player to switch back and forth between ilo and milo, gaining control of either character whenever you want. Not only that, but certain items can be picked up by pressing the A button, and can be placed and activated by pressing it again while they’re equipped. The orientation of the map can also be switched up, since gravity is definitely overrated, and with the help of a little red carpet, you have full access to the entire three-dimensional plane, yet are still held to only moving in the traditional four directions.
As inferred, the name of the game is getting from point A to point B, right? Well, not entirely. Besides having ilo and milo meet with each other, you’re going to want to collect as many floating items as you possibly can. These items are known as Memories, and whenever you fill up the canister in the top left corner you’ll view pieces of a single photograph, along with messages signed by our two dear protagonists. I’d suggest you collect all the Memories in the game because there’s a prize to doing so; unlocking Avatar Awards — even ilo and milo characters for your Avatar to play with. Note that the fetching quests don’t end there. Located in each stage are a number of Safka’s, or mini-versions of whatever creature your character is. You can’t 100% finish the game until you’ve found all the Safka’s in all the game, which adds even more difficulty to an already mindbending game.
How’s it look and sound?
What will definitely draw in people of all walks of games are the visuals. Ilomilo’s style feels organic, almost as if it’s living and breathing on its own. Its cloth and knit-patched setting is polished and makes you wonder why not all mainstream titles don’t look this good. In other words, this is as good as it gets in terms of aesthetics and visual appeal.
And it doesn’t end at just the way it looks — the music and overall enjoyment come from its almost over zealous take on being charming and whimsical. The menu’s work as instruments when moving from one option to another, and loading screens are filled with irrelevant yet humurous text that just beg to be smiled at. Southend Interactive, the game’s developer, definitely had a specific taste in mind, and they’ve hit it dead on the mark, making Ilomilo nothing short of a work of art.
Watch the gameplay trailer to ilomilo here.
How long does it take to finish? Is it hard?
Since Ilomilo isn’t an action game, it’s ability to be beaten all depends on the player behind the controller. And while its gameplay doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it does require some thinking outside of the box for certain areas. The game hosts 49 stages within 4 chapters (not including the prologue, tutorial maps), and can be finished up in an estimated total time of approximately 5 hours, if you’re good that is.
Overall
“[it] pulls at your heart strings… making this game as endearing as it gets.”As a puzzle game, your job is simple: reunite Ilo (Illona) and Milo (Milton) at the end of each stage. It’s not that complicated. Throw in a few collectibles here and there, a couple of obstacles on the side, and nearly 50 stages to boggle your brain, and you’ve got the makings of a great, imaginative game.
Pro’s
- Endearing visuals and characters
- Puzzles require thought but aren’t impossible
Con’s
- A little too cutesy for some
- Wish it was longer
Ilomilo’s originality and charm give it the goods to stand on its own and become one of this generation’s greatest downloadable titles. It’s an instant classic, and at a asking price of only 800MS points ($10) it’s quite the bargain. The only thing you’ll be complaining about is when will DLC be available to lengthen the experience even further. — Oh, and it’s pronounced “Eye-Low-My-Low”.
