What’s not dull is the look of this game. Balan’s Bout, a brief quick-time event you access every time you find one of Balan’s hats, is far too dull to repeat as often as it does. They feel shoehorned in, aren’t that engaging, and don’t provide a unique enough reward for their completion. While past Naka titles did an excellent job of weaving mini-games into the adventure at large - think the bonus levels when collecting a Chaos Emerald in Sonic the Hedgehog - the mini-games in Balan Wonderworld don’t complement the rest of the experience. As I said above, it’s more an action-adventure game than anything else with light platforming, puzzle-solving, and mini-games. Going through it, I kept thinking back to Naka describing this as an “action game.” That’s a description that just doesn’t fit it, even with the most generous use of that definition. The lack of difficulty makes for a leisurely experience. Costumes do carry over from one level to the next, and if you lose a costume you need, finding it again isn’t too much trouble. Enemies are sparse and easy to eliminate, while mid-bosses and the one included boss battle can be beaten in a flash. You will lose your current costume if you take damage, but that shouldn’t be a problem in this demo. In the very first level, you’ll no double spot some gems hanging from a spiderweb, letting you know you’ll need to make a return trip when you’ve acquired that suit. Some can’t be reached with the costumes you unlock in the level, requiring players to double back when they have the right suit for the job at hand.
While compact when compared to stages found in something like Super Mario Odyssey, they still encourage exploration with trophies scattered around each stage for players to find. Speaking of the levels, they are a decent showcase of what Yuji Naka is going for here. You can carry and cycle through up to three costumes at once, and excess duds are sent to a closet that can be accessed at certain points in each level. Just to be clear, some costumes don’t allow you to jump, so if you’re approaching a platforming section, make sure you’re wearing one that does. These costumes represent the central gimmick of Balan Wonderworld, and there is a good mix in the demo to showcase the different abilities you’ll have to master if you want to 100% the final game. Press any button on the gamepad and your character will jump or use whatever skill is associated with the costumes you’ll collect on your journey. Not easy, though this demo shouldn’t give you any trouble, but simple. The first thing that you should know about Balan Wonderworld is that it’s simple.
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