Kalimba (Video Game Review)

Puzzle platformers are popular right now, but most of them tend to follow a certain pattern. This is not the case of Kalimba however, because here the players have to move the pieces of a totem pole as they go through a variety of levels, all with the main purpose of avoiding obstacles as fast as possible.

Story
There is a small story here, related to a noble shaman that uses a sacred totem pole in order to save the people, but the pole quickly gets destroyed and an evil shaman manages to take control of the land, something you need to try and stop at all costs if you want to stay alive.

Gameplay
In Kalimba you will control two colored pieces of the totem, and when you move a single piece, the second one will copy the action as well. You will need to find a pattern so that both pieces go through the level seamlessly and reach the end.

What I found interesting in Kalimba is that if a piece is lost while getting touched by other pieces or enemies, you will actually lose both pieces. So you need to avoid anything you can encounter in this game, be it a single piece, enemies or pitfalls.

As you play, you will have the opportunity to get items found all over the level. This is nice in the beginning, but it manages to get quite challenging as you play, which, I have to say, is a really good and quite exciting technique to say the least.

When you do get to complete the level, you receive a score that will however be lowered if you lost pieces while playing. This made me try the levels again and again in order to get the perfect score, so there is indeed a replay factor to be found here, you can rest assured of that!

But the main attraction for me, and I am sure that for many of you as well, is the cooperative gameplay. Two players can control a pair of totem pieces that have the same color and you can play through a multitude of levels, but the rules do remain the same. Scores and ranks are also affected by the same rules, which is rather cool!

Graphics and sounds
Kalimba has some nice sounds and a soundtrack that is rather repetitive, but the main appeal are the graphics. The game world is very colorful, and the pieces you control are rather unique, which makes the whole experience very impressive.

Overall, I found Kalimba to be a very good game, that promises a lot and which does indeed manage to deliver on its promise. It might not be an AAA title to download and play for dozens and hours, but it’s a good time waster that you can play with your friends or family during a rainy day. I encourage you to check it out, especially since you can get it at a decent price.

Score: 7 out of 10
Reviewed for PC