Have Game, Will Play: Murasaki Baby

Baby needs to feel safe and secure. Not knowing the whereabouts of Mommy have baby feeling a bit fearful. Murasaki Baby from Ovosonico puts players in the roll of someone Baby trusts. This isn’t explicitly stated, it is implied because using the Vita’s front touchscreen allows you to guide Baby. Using an index finger you can take Baby’s hand and lead her along.

The game begins with Baby crying and you must drag her purple heart-shaped balloon back over to her. Keeping her calm and her balloon intact are your main objectives – along with finding Mommy. Different balloons, when popped add additional back- grounds that can be swapped by dragging two fingers across the Vita’s rear touch panel. Red backgrounds can scare Baby and other characters which may trigger a reaction that allow you to make progression. Once a background is selected tapping the rear touch will essentially active it. A handful of activations can instill fear, bring strong winds, rain or even freeze the environment.

I didn’t recall using the touch features on the Vita as extensively since playing launch games like Little Deviants or Uncharted Golden Abyss. Murasaki Baby begins with relatively simple obstacles but ramps up the difficulty at a good pace. No one should accuse Murasaki Baby of using the Vita’s touch capability as a gimmick because it’s consistent, well implemented and is a core mechanic. Murasaki Baby’s brevity could be seen as a detractor but I think its ~3 hour length was appropriate. There is nothing else, I’ve played, on the Vita that was as abstract, eerie and delightful as Ovosonico’s latest which should not be ignored.

Recommendation: Worth a buy -  if you want to try something a little different and don’t mind touching your Vita
Full Disclosure: This game was provided to GameEnthus by the publisher.
Genre: unique puzzle platformer
Developer: Ovosonico
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Platform(s): PS Vita
Price: $14.99

Links
http://murasakigame.com/
http://GameEnthus.com
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/gameenthus-podcast-video-games/id286435007?mt=2

Scale:
Worth a buy – paying full price for fans of the series or genre makes sense – often includes a caveat
Worth a buy on sale – not quite full price worthy but close, – often includes a caveat
No – borrow it if you must play it
Please no – Don’t waste any time and/or money on it

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