Videogame Review: Ilomilo

Ilomilo follows the adventures of two creatures called Ilo and Milo. They belong to a race of critters called ‘safkas’, and they have the unfortunate issue of constantly being on different geometrical planes to each other. It is the player’s job, therefore, to reunite Ilo and Milo in each level. Though the puzzles get fairly complicated, navigating the levels is never a chore; a tap of the ‘x’ button switches between control of Ilo and Milo, while a tap of ‘y’ zooms the camera out for a better view of surroundings. The camera is brilliant, and has the ability to make portions of the environment temporarily invisible so that Ilo and Milo are always visible.

These environments are made up entirely of cubes, floating in space abstractedly. Puzzles involve picking up specific blocks and repositioning them to form bridges and platforms which can then be used to unite Ilo and Milo. However, it isn’t as simple as just reconfiguring the environment entirely; Ilomilo is very strict about which cubes the player can pick up, and each one has specific abilities which must be used correctly to complete the level. For example, an extending cube could be used to bridge a gap. Ilomilo rarely makes it that simple, however, and blocks must often be used in combination with others to achieve some often slightly mind-bending goals.

On the face of it, this all sounds a little dull, but Ilomilo has two features which make it stand out. For one thing, its imagination and variety are exemplar; the game always seems to realise when things are getting stale and changes the environment, or introduces a new type of cube. By the later stages of the game, players need to be adept at using all of the skills they have built up through the earlier levels, nearly all of which are a joy to play through.

Ilomilo’s other strength is its art direction and general feel. From the characters themselves to the menu, everything has a patchwork, worn style. The aforementioned cubes themselves all have cute smiling faces and funny sound effects. The player has a guide in the shape of Sebastian: what appears to be a small, pompous man riding some sort of bat-beetle creature. The way the game inhabits its nonsense world is genuinely endearing, and creates very unique atmosphere.

My only criticism of Ilomilo is that it runs out of ideas right before the end of the game. The final level itself is truly stellar, but some of the levels just prior seem to have received less attention, making the ending somewhat bittersweet. Still, aside from that Ilomilo is a very solid puzzler that rarely missteps. It is well worth your hard-earned cash, even if you can’t pronounce its name.

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