How was Little Orpheus (The Chinese Room)?

[Zor]

With the recent release of the pretty darn great STILL WAKES THE DEEP, I was reminded of The Chinese Room's prior game Little Orpheus, a colourful and comedic side-scrolling romp through the center of the earth.

I know it landed on Apple Arcade first but it's since been released on consoles and I was wondering if anyone here played it, and what they thought?


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avGJU2hvVeA&ab_channel=TheChineseRoom


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iERySbElJKU&ab_channel=Xbox

 

[Stallion Free]

It's a decent cinematic platformer. Each level went a bit longer than I think it needed too and some areas just weren't exciting.

The collectibles don't show until you replay a level so you need to do almost 2 full runs to 100% it.

 

[shaneo632]

It was decent, the first game I played on my Steam Deck.

 

[weblaus]

I'd say it's basically their best game by far and unlike the others also does feel more like an actual game instead of an overly old-fashioned Walking Simulator (I suppose you could say I really disagree on "Still Wakes the Deep" being even close to darn great and despite generally enjoying Walking Sims).

Also gets bonus points for being lighthearted fun instead of slightly pretentious serious storytelling.

 

[Fat4all]

it's fine

it didn't do much for me

 

[AHA-Lambda]

It's fine

 

[Zor]

Just played through the first episode and thought it was pretty fun.

If there are any games doing this kind of cinematic, fun platforming better that anyone feels like recommending, please do!

 

[Stallion Free]

These all fit the cinematic platformer descriptor (Gris might be a stretch) and ranked higher for me than Little Orpheus

Another World - the OG, I think it holds up great
The Artful Escape - really beautiful, makes great use of the background for visual set pieces
Gris - not as focused on platforming, but the art style is 10/10
Inside - amazing pacing, great art, killer ending
Limbo - you will die a lot, but the mood is fantastic and the save system is designed around the deaths
Planet Alpha - similar to Little Orpheus but a bit tighter experience for me
Planet of Lana - pure cinematic platformer, has some really amazing set pieces

 

[Zor]

These all fit the cinematic platformer descriptor (Gris might be a stretch) and ranked higher for me than Little Orpheus

Another World - the OG, I think it holds up great
The Artful Escape - really beautiful, makes great use of the background for visual set pieces
Gris - not as focused on platforming, but the art style is 10/10
Inside - amazing pacing, great art, killer ending
Limbo - you will die a lot, but the mood is fantastic and the save system is designed around the deaths
Planet Alpha - similar to Little Orpheus but a bit tighter experience for me
Planet of Lana - pure cinematic platformer, has some really amazing set pieces

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Amazing, thanks so much!

 

[Zor]

The collectibles don't show until you replay a level so you need to do almost 2 full runs to 100% it.

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Been playing some more and as much as I'm enjoying it, this in particular feels like a really silly way to artificially prolong the experience.

These collectibles are great, I love behind the scenes stuff, especially (as is the case here) where it adds more context and story. But I feel like these orbs would have been better served just hidden across a normal, first playthrough.

It's not too bad I suppose, as the game does seem quite short. But just an odd decision for me.

 

[Stallion Free]

Amazing, thanks so much!

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One more that's sort of split genres: American Arcadia. The bulk of the game is cinematic 2D platformer, but there are alternating sequences in first person where you play a different character. I thought it was great, but I do feel that the changing perspective is worth noting.