Red Story review - Don't go into the woods

There are two very important sides to Red Story. The first, and most obvious, is that it's an incredibly good looking game. It flows with all the precision of a hand drawn cartoon, and the graphics fizz and pop off of Retina screens.

The second, and most important, is that sometimes it just doesn't work. I've plunged to my death because taps didn't register, been cut to pieces by spinning saws because swipes didn't work, and every time the sheen of the game has dulled just that little bit more.

And it's a real shame, because there's such potential here. But with every unwarranted death you get farther and farther away from any enjoyment the game might have been able to deliver.

Red in tooth and claw

The game casts you as Red Riding Hood. The wolf steals a map from your wall and it's up to you to chase him through a series of gorgeous levels to try and get it back.

There are spikes to jump over, swinging blades to dodge, and wolves dressed as odd chickens to bonk on the head as you jog past.

The game controls your forward momentum. You need to take care of jumping, sliding, and turning around with a series of taps and swipes. And this is where everything starts to fall apart.

Sometimes your inputs just don't register, leaving you smashing into things or falling down things you should have avoided. It's a huge source of frustration - especially in a genre that demands fluidity.

Rather than racing through the levels with a grin on your face, you'll end up flummoxed and exhausted, trying desperately to figure out what it is you're doing wrong.

And that's the kicker, because you're not doing anything wrong. The game is. The direction change in particular is awful, and I've ended up lodged behind walls waiting to die because the game refused to acknowledge the multiple swipes I've attempted to carve into the screen.

What frustrating controls you have

From the moment Red Story loaded up I wanted to be charmed by it. I wanted it to take me on a magical, slightly lopsided fairytale adventure.

Instead it grabbed me by the throat and started throwing me into gloopy green puddles. And quite frankly I don't have the time for that sort of nonsense.

Red Story review - Don't go into the woods

A gorgeous game spoiled by a control system that should work, but doesn't
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.