[Review] I and Me (Nintendo Switch)

Developer: Wish Fang

Publisher: Ratalaika Games & Rainy Frog Games

Platform: Nintendo Switch (eShop)

Category: Platformer, Puzzle & Action

Release Date: 6^th of July, 2017 (JP & EU) & 13^th of July, 2017 (NA)

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If you like a puzzle game of sorts that plays like a platformer with two cats needing to make their way to a mirror, than rejoice fellow gamers for I and Me has arrived and it may not be as fresh as it was when it came to Steam last year, it is better than most reviewers are professing it to be.

In fact I’ve actually seen a few of the reviews out there and some of them do not do I and Me justice, so it falls down to me to not necessary properly convey what kind of a game I and Me really is, but to at least try and properly convey what kind of a game it is and try to dispel the conception that it is an all too easy platformer you can blitz through in a couple of hours.

Admittedly it can be completed in around four to six hours, but I and Me is not the simple 92 level-long game a few reviewers are making it out to be. Yes the whole premise of it is essentially a game about getting two black cats to a picture frame for them to sit in to get their picture taken. But while it sounds simple in theory, executing said theory can be a bit of a challenge as both cats simultaneously move in the same direction, so while one may be a good place to leap across to another platform, the other may be standing in a tight space with a spiked ceiling, so if you jump and one cat dies, you will need to restart the level. (You will also die a lot, so it’s a good thing these cats have more than 9 lives, but actually have infinite lives.)

Still it’s not just spikes and cats moving in the same direction you have to deal with as there are also pit falls and certain challenges that can only be found in specific seasons. (There are four seasons in all, Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter and each season has its own set background, which is the same for every level playable in its retrospective season). One such challenge is a magic wand that when your cat comes into contact with, causes the cat to move in the opposite direction, which does actually open up another way to play and makes it even harder to avoid certain animals like hedgehogs and sheep. Sure you can jump on them and bounce really high, but they can kill you all the same.

Only if I and Me is on the easy side for you and you don’t even need to press X to see a hint to complete the puzzle before you, just don’t go expecting to do all 92 levels right off the bat as there are 7 extra levels that can only be accessed provided you collect all 20 pages that can be found amongst all four seasons  and those levels do not offer you a hint, so if you can’t beat them, you might just have to try them again another day and extra levels aren’t enough of a reason to collect them, then how about the fact they actually add to the game’s story?

While it is not necessary to have an understanding or even an appreciation of philosophy, to enjoy I and Me, I and Me is a very philosophical game about self-discovery, so having said understanding and appreciation does in fact help and make the game actually feel better and somewhat justifies the orchestral piano tunes that plays through-out (at times they can get a bit repetitive, despite being rather enjoyable at the beginning. although having said that, sometimes one’s very soul place the song over and over like a bad song, so you could argue there is a bit of realism to it.) And now that this review is twice as long as some of the written ones I have seen so far, it’s time to wrap it up and fast forward to the conclusion.

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Conclusion:

I and Me may not be the hit it was when it came out last year, what with being very off-putting to at least 25% of gamers who have played it so far, but it is actually a decent game that has smooth controls that does bring a little something different to Nintendo’s innovative Switch and it does actually feel right at home. So say what you want about it, but I like it, I like its concept and I’m going to give it a 7/10. By no means is it another piece of shovelware available on the Switch eShop because if I had to choose between this and Flip Wars, which come out on the same day (for Europe,) I’m going to pick I and Me every time. So give it a try and make up your own mind of it and don’t just read into what some reviewer has said on a site you visit every now and then. It may not have the replay value most games have for everyone, but it is definitely something I can see myself going back to.

THE VERDICT: 7/10

*Review Key Provided by Ratalaika Games