Little Orpheus Reviews
Charming but linear sci-fi 2.5 platformer
Little Orpheus is a colourful adventure title that plays it too safe. I loved its whacky story, interesting backdrops, and fun mechanics. However, its repetitive nature undermines its potential and this was disappointing.
Little Orpheus' two strong points are the same as the strong points from The Chinese Room's other two games. The thing is, here they've added a third element -- platforming -- that's not nearly as compelling, and it's enough to make the game a far cry from their previous standard.
Little Orpheus brings us the adventure of Ivan Ivanovich, a character we know little or nothing about, but we want so much to understand how he got where he is. With simple gameplay and an interesting narrative, it is undoubtedly a title for new players and lovers of the genre.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Even though it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, I still highly recommend Little Orpheus. If you go in knowing it’s a laid-back adventure that’s more focused on its story than on providing a challenge, then you won’t be disappointed. Especially if you’re looking for a fun, silly, casual experience to enjoy over a few hours. Much how Lost in Play feels like playing a Saturday morning cartoon, Little Orpheus feels like a playable old school adventure film, like The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.
Little Orpheus began life as a video game for phones and, on those platforms, its limited gameplay probably did not stand out as much. This made it easier for the narrative and the presentation to impress players and to keep them moving to see how the story of Ivan and the nuclear bomb ends.
Little Orpheus is a casual cinematic adventure that is light on gameplay but won me over with its impressive narrative and art style. If you’re looking for a challenge you won’t find it here. But if you’re looking for a good story to share with family or loved ones that will take you to unexpected places that you certainly won’t forget then I highly recommend picking up Little Orpheus.
It’s got a real Flash Gordon vibe to it and the humour really helps to stick the landing when it comes to the storytelling. The voice-acting is cracking and make for regular giggles, if not somewhat stereotyped. But when it comes to gameplay its fine but not anything to write home about. A nice game but not a great game.
If you think storytelling is more important than gameplay then you should definitely give this 4-hours long "comedy series" a chance. Just don't expect too much in terms of gameplay.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
While the colorful underground worlds in Little Orpheus look fantastic, the terribly bland platforming and irritating story drag the whole experience down into the depths.
While perhaps the presentation shines over the, at times, QuickTime Event-style action, it has some charm as well
I thoroughly enjoyed Little Orpheus' premise and imaginative game world so it's unfortunate that its gameplay is as basic and unchallenging as it is. Plus, having collectibles spawn only after you complete stages makes for some super-tedious replay value.
The journey to the center of the Earth in the Russian way is funny, entertaining, but above all with a breathtaking appearance and fantastic visuals that will enchant you.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Little Orpheus turns out to be an ordinary and mediocre product in every aspect of what it proposes, even if the bad timing of its release is disregarded. With simple mechanics and an uninspired level design, it's tedious, sometimes funny, but most of the time it's just really weak.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
This is an easy recommendation to anyone who loves a unique and interesting story and yearns for a casual platforming experience. An adventure to be discovered by many. Little Orpheus has creativity, beautiful visuals and smart witty characterisation. With a run time of three hours split into nine small episodes, it certainly will not disrespect your time.
As much as we adored the charming back-and-forth between Ivan and the General, we also began to lose interest in Ivan’s predicament near the end. There’s no narrative payoff here, no greater meaning or memorable conclusion that sticks with you. In Little Orpheus, The Chinese Room flirts with providing a more engaging experience that never quite materialises, made all the more apparent by the lack of puzzles intuitive enough to give us the barest hint of a dopamine-laced ‘aha!’ moment or a chase sequence or two with enough challenge to make us sit up on our sofa. That aside, the richly detailed worlds and superb presentation provide just enough reason to see Ivan's tall tale through to the end, but we ended up wishing there was more on both the puzzling and narrative fronts.
A former Apple Arcade exclusive, Little Orpheus successfully brings its cinematic platformer action to Nintendo Switch. This throwback to pulp movie serials works well on the TV screen, and the gameplay is better suited to Joy-Con controls than a touchscreen. The sense of wonder does slowly wear off, but it's a quick, casual adventure worth completing.
Little Orpheus‘ has a solid enough foundation. It is too bad that there was not enough creativity put into the puzzles or platforming. The imagery is so good that it could have made up for the lack of imagination, but the rough controls and spotty inputs are what prevent it from achieving greatness.
Little Orpheus is a truly enjoyable and well-packaged adventure, with a great storyline, a sparkling script and a setting capable of capturing the player's attention from start to finish. The extremely linear gameplay doesn't mesh too well with console game standards, but it is undoubtedly a title to behold.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Inspired, fun, colorful. Little Orpheus is an old-fashioned platforming adventure with an interesting story and simple gameplay for those who are looking for a few hours of fun without challenges.
Review in Italian | Read full review