Sneak Peak: Kalimba (Video Game Preview)

BioGamer Girl recently had the opportunity to get a sneak peak at Press Play's upcoming title, Kalimba, for the Xbox One. In this exclusive peak at the game, we got to try out the first eight levels of single-player mode and the first five of the co-op levels. When the game releases, fans will be able to venture across 24 single player and 10 co-op levels. Read on to see what we thought!

The Kalimba start screen gave us the first taste of the game's bright colors and rhythmic soundtrack. Our spiritual journey started out with an introduction from Hoebear the Metabear who tells us a little about the backstory for the game. The basic rundown is that a shaman woman was tasked with watching over a tall totem pole on Kalimba island. The trixelated characters lived in perfect harmony until the arrival of a dark shaman who scattered the good shaman's totems all over the island. Now the player must help regain the totem pieces for the Kalimbis to once again restore harmony. End of story! Now it is time to get down to the gameplay.

In Kalimba players control little pieces of the totem in a platform adventure were they must sync their movements on both the top and bottom screen to progress through the game. In co-op mode, gameplay is much simpler with a friend to help out, but players in single-player mode can find it a bit of a challenge. Kalimba features trixelated art with everything being built around the shape of the triangle which gives the game a very unique look. The game centers around collecting a select number of pickups to calculate your final score which is then subtracted from the number of times you died.



Gameplay in Kalimba is very straightforward meaning you must learn how to control and sync up your two individual totems in order to get past certain environmental objects like annons, loor locks, uffs, and color-coded gauntlets. The puzzles can get very challenging and mind-boggling while still offering up an overall enjoyable experience. Inviting a friend to play in co-op mode will definitely help you get through some of the more complex levels were you can solve puzzles together.

In the end, Kalmiba was a very intriguing and unique puzzle platformer. The bright visuals and excellent soundtrack only complimented the intensely enjoyable gameplay that unfolded throughout the title's many levels. While most of Kalmiba is trial and error, which means you can expect to die a few times before figuring out some of the puzzles, there seemed to be something strangely satisfying to finally getting to the end of each level. Nothing feels like more of an achievement then to see your little totems dance to your Nappyowl handsome totem score! To learn more, visit the official Press Play website.