The litlgeeks got a fantastic surprise in the mail from their friends at Tourmaline Studios.  What was in it??

 

Oniri Islands is a 2-player cooperative game for iPad.  To play the game, you need the two figures that represent the two main characters.  Mina and Tim.  Now, Oniri Island is part of a Kickstarter project that JUST started 3/16, only two days ago.

As you can see, this project is pretty far along.  The game is wonderful.  The figures are very very pretty.  The gameplay is whimsical with a calming sound track.  

You use the two figures to move around in the game, collect items and interact with objects.  You are guided in the game by Tim and Mina’s grandmother who provides clues and context to your experience.  The litlgeeks played through the first “level” where they had to collect 5 fire creatures to make a signal.  Once they made the signal, animals of the island gave up their spirits to protect the children and become their “masks”.  Masks are other accessories you can use in the real world for the figures, but for purposes of this review, we only received the figures, not the masks.

Highlights of the game:

  • The art style is really stunning, fresh and endearing
  • The narration of the grandmother serves to bring players into the world
  • The figures, though ours are unpainted prototypes are well made, very pretty
  • The game is intuitive and simple to pick up

What we are hoping is improved with the final product (and we are sure it will be)

  • The interaction between the figures and the iPad screen was finicky at times, frequently causing us to have to re-place the figures on the screen.  It should be noted, we do have glass screen protectors on all of our devices, that could have played a role in some of our challenges.

Now, the Kickstarter is live and has been for 2 days.  They are already at $13000 of their $34000 goal.  Let’s all help them get there, this is absolutely a game worth backing.  It’s fun, beautiful and plays great!

 

The litlgeeks received the products in this review for free.

This post and video is for entertainment purposes only.