Nihilumbra Review (Wii U)

Nihilumbra is an atmospheric puzzler/platformer developed by Beautifun Games.  In Nihilumbra, you control a strange creature that was created in (and escaped from) the “Void” to adventure through our world while running from the Void.  The story of this creature is told throughout each level by text that appears around the environment along with optional narration.  

The controls in Nihilumbra are very easy to use and the developers made great use of the touch screen on the Wii U’s gamepad.  The game is played much like a standard platformer, left and right move your character through the level and A and B make your character jump.  The L and R buttons change what “color” or ability you are using.  These colors are obtained throughout the game and allow you to do different things with the environment, such as using blue on the ground makes you move faster and green makes you bounce.

There are many different "colors" or abilities that you can use in Nihilumbra.

These colors play a major part in making Nihilumbra a great puzzle game. The puzzles start out pretty simple, such as using blue to move faster and jump further than normal to reach an area you couldn’t normally reach.  As you progress through the game, these puzzles get more difficult, which keeps the game interesting.  There were a few times that I had to take a step back and really look through a puzzle to figure out the solution.  These puzzles make the game different from most standard platformers and keeps it interesting.

The graphics in Nihilumbra are very nice.  They are very simple and dark and the previously mentioned narrative text does not distract you from what you are trying to do.  The backgrounds and environments are beautiful and very detail, which help make the movements and fluidity of the game wonderful. The sounds and music in Nihilumbra sound great and fit each level appropriately, which is essential in a platformer.

Overall, Nihilumbra is a great puzzler/platformer.  The graphics, controls and overall gameplay is wonderful and it is one of the best and most interesting platformers I have played in a long time.  The puzzles start out a little easy, but progress in difficulty and really make the game enjoyable.  You can download Nihilumbra now on the Wii U eshop for $9.99, and it is well worth it.

4/5