Together: Amna & Saif is a couch co-op adventure puzzle game focused on interdependence. The developer’s goal is for people to think about each other and have a better relationship for having played their game. Designed from the ground up to be a co-op only experience it allows the team at Mount Olympus to explore and do things that would otherwise be impossible. Every aspect of the game is designed to foster interaction, communication, and empathy. To accomplish that they decided to not have violence, special abilities or differences in the two characters in the game. Making players the same removes barriers to empathy. And feeling powerful inhibits empathy. After a successful, and ongoing Kickstarter campaign, Mount Olympus released a preview of the game for us to take a look at.
When I began my short journey into the build I received for Together, I was a little skeptical. I’ve been promised an entertaining couch co-op puzzle experience before and been either disappointed, overwhelmed or simply not very impressed (except for Portal 2, but come on). However, this was different. Instead of being bombarded by a ton of mechanics or a highly polished environment screaming of sculpting and textures, I was pleasantly surprised by this simple but well put together press release. It gave my friend and myself a little under an hour of intriguing playtime that gave us a nice sample of what the full release could be.
Together really brings a nice sense of discovery and achievement to the table. Not everything is laid out in plain sight, and the first time we had to retry a level it took us a moment to think about what we had to do and plan our moves before resetting everything. Speaking of resetting, the game is light on load times so this feature was almost instant; a must in my opinion when it comes to games that sometimes require a lot of retries.
One thing I’m especially excited for when the game releases is a copy of the soundtrack. The music is calming and quite pretty, lending itself to the atmosphere very nicely. The game itself is rather colourful and cute, but only in the best of ways. I’m reminded a bit of Pixeljunk Monsters, at least in regards to the score and artwork. It was created by a small team and they’ve really done a fantastic job with the small amount of money they asked for and received from their Kickstarter, because it’s all done to a nice level of polish without going overboard.
Possibly the best thing about Together is the fact that I can play this with my niece and nephew if I wanted to and still have fun. It goes to show that games can be made for a wide audience, keeping things simple and bright but not overly childish. Anyone who has children or younger extended family can spend some time with their loved ones while solving puzzles and helping Amna and Saif save their ailing daughter and sister. It really is just a great way to pass the time and help expose young or simply new people to gaming without ending up with a frustrating experience that leaves a sour taste in some peoples’ mouths.
The only negative comment I really have for Together is that unfortunately the team did not reach an extended goal of $20,000, which would have allowed them to put new game plus into the title. I really would like to be able to go back into the world and attempt the puzzles on a harder difficulty either with a more experienced friend, or possibly even with the person who I took with me on the first journey. Despite this drawback however, I’m sure Together: Amna and Saif will live up to its promise of delivering a fun and delightful co-op experience that players can enjoy with just about anyone.
