While I and Me has its simple charms between its laid back music, easygoing pace, and periodic Zen-like words of calmness there is a point where that approach can backfire. There is no doubt in my mind that there’s a class of gamer that will enjoy it, perhaps even a great deal, but aside from very casual gamers (not likely the ones to spring for a $300 console you can take on the go) I’m thinking for many people it won’t be very satisfying once all is said and done.
Starting with the positive the game is absolutely cute, with its two small black kittens who you’ll need to move (they move together unless blocked by an obstacle), through their puzzle of platforms, hazards, and various odd animals to their respective picture frames. The level is concluded when you get them both into their frames at once and you’ll be expected to utilize whatever is around you, some intuition, and sometimes some dexterity as well to get them there and ensure their spacing works out properly. On some levels there’s an additional challenge of a notepad for you to blend into your plan of attack if you want to up your effort a little, but at a high level the entire game has just been described.
That leads a bit into one of the valid criticisms for the game, that from the start very little changes in terms of the experience or makes a significant impression. There are seasonal variations and new elements that get added as you progress through the levels but in truth it kind of all ends up being the difference in painting the walls in the ivory versus the bone. The music may vary but even as a music-lover I can’t say any of it stood out. Added to that there ultimately are a very limited set of total assets in the game to mix things up with both in terms of visuals and in gameplay. There are no outright faults to any of it but there also aren’t any real highlights.
What will make or break the game for you, though, will be the puzzles and whether you find them engaging. Overall, as a puzzle fan, I’ll say that I didn’t find the majority of them challenging either in terms of planning or execution. At the end of the day any given edge or element is a clue to the ultimate solution so even without planning things out you can generally barrel head-on into the puzzle with assumptions on how it will work based on the layout. Unfortunately I’d say that the puzzles I did struggle the most on were aggravating not because I couldn’t figure out how to solve them but because the very mild platforming elements to the game are a little on the wonkier side at times. It is when you combined this with the very slow pace of the game that I actually got the most frustrated. When you know the solution, you fail to execute on some detail, and then everything resets and you need to wait through some pattern again multiple times you start to think about bad things happening to innocent little black kittens. Either a fast forward button or even a rewind option would serve the game incredibly well and maintain a greater focus on it being a clever puzzler and not a mediocre platformer.
With all of this in mind I find myself in the middle concerning how to score I and Me. There’s really nothing inherently wrong with it, but at the same time I didn’t find it terribly compelling or able to significantly differentiate itself from similar offerings you could find on tablets (or even mobile phones) in terms of challenge or interest. The overall demographics for Switch owners I’d say probably compound this problem a bit, since it is a very sedate and exclusively single-player experience, but I’ll acknowledge that for the right people this could actually be a selling point. I’d say the best bet is to read a variety of reviews, check out some video, and take it all in to decide whether or not the game is for you. While I’d personally prefer something more innovative, there is a place for I and Me on the Switch for people looking for a calming way to puzzle away some hours.
Score: 5
Pros:
- Cute, charming, and generally sedate
- Traditional puzzle-solving fare
- A reasonably high number of puzzles if you enjoy their style
Cons:
- Cute, charming, and generally sedate
- Traditional puzzle-solving fare
- The slow pace, when married with the clunky platforming that is sometimes necessary, can make the game aggravating for the wrong reason
