Little Orpheus

Ivan Ivanovich had been exploring the centre of the earth before disappearing for 3 years. When he returns, he is interrogated over the disappearance of the atomic bomb powering his exploration vehicle; the Little Orpheus.

Ivan recalls his tale, which becomes more far-fetched as it goes along, and Ivan does introduce dinosaurs pretty early on! Ivan is most likely infusing historical myth with classic stories of the likes of Lemuria and Mob Dick amongst others. You play the game as Ivan explains the tale under the General's questioning.

The gameplay is a casual puzzle-platformer, taking inspiration from the likes of Limbo and Inside, albeit a very colourful and humorous version. There is a mystery and ominous feel to part of it, and I felt like there might be a twist to the story to make it more interesting, but it never really comes.

The jumping feels quite floaty, and can even be floatier in other sections like underwater and in space. The animations tend to look a bit glitchy if you don't cleanly make the jumps. If you aren't running or jumping, then you might be climbing/swinging across ropes, or solving simple puzzles by rotating levers to activate machinery. Occasionally there's quick-time-events using a button press to dodge a threat. There's some stealth sections where you have to time your movement to proceed, or find an alternate route around the enemy.

The checkpoints are frequent, so you never will be frustrated if you fail a stealth section or fall down a pit.

The game is presented in an episodic way (not sure if it was released this way), so you will see credits roll at the end of each chapter. It gives a convenient point to take a break, although a Quit button seems to be missed from the chapter select screen. So you have to start the next chapter before being able to officially quit. There’s autosaves through the levels too.

It sounds like you need to replay the game if you want to see unlockable content. I didn't bother with this, but it sounds like there's collectible orbs to find throughout the level. Why wasn't that just available from the start? I completed the game in 3.8 hours so it's not too long for most people to replay if they wish.

Little Orpheus is aimed at a more casual audience, and for those wanting more Limbo-like games. It’s a decent game, but the story or puzzles aren’t strong enough to recommend it based on those alone.