*best Dr. Frankenstein voice*… IT’S ALIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!

That’s right, folks, your childhood favourite ‘Drawn to Life’ is back with a bang with ”Drawn to Life: Two Realms”. After the unfortunate bankruptcy of THQ, the original publisher, 505 Games has performed a miracle and given us a new monster to enjoy; and enjoy it I did!

Drawn to Life is a 2D, platform-adventure game, where you must use your wits and the environment to reach your goals. After using your creativity to create your own avatar, Two Realms reunites players with their friends from the original to continue their tale. In what seems like a creepy sort of “inception”, you traverse the world and interact with people that need to change their minds in order to continue.

Players must work their way through this platform game by rearranging the levels to help reach the exit door. Each of these levels you beat changes the mind of the person, and allows you to progress towards the inevitable ending of “saving the world”.

The biggest difference between Two Realms and it’s illustrious predecessor is the abilities of the consoles they are delivered on. The original Drawn to Life allowed users to manipulate their surroundings as they saw fit. This was only manageable through the stylus that was part of the DS console. Unfortunately, the newer consoles do not come with this natural drawing apparatus, and despite the fact they have a decade of technological advancements behind them, it’s not easy to replicate this feat on power alone.

The minds behind Two Realms decided to overcome this by allowing pre-defined stickers to be used in the stylus’ place, and it covers the gap fairly well. Whilst relying slightly less on the players’ creativity, it puts a little more emphasis on their wits. You have to jump, bop, spin, and pound your way to victory.

In what feels like basically a side-scrolling puzzle game, Two Realms manages to keep the momentum going by adding new creatures/puzzle elements as you go, continually changing up how the gameplay feels. It’s an offset from lots at once and then nothing for a while, but it makes it feel like you’re always getting something more. A good way to keep the player guessing. Considering the limitations of stick controls, I also appreciate that they allowed a sensitivity adjustment in the game. I’ve been getting on in years and enjoyed the slower movement speed!

Graphics are pretty standard for a 2D based game. They kind of remind me of the original Pokemon games in terms of general movement, which is a nice little hit of nostalgia. Otherwise, nothing too flash, but it gets the job done. The creativity around stickers and avatar creation is cute and fun.

Repeating the same section over and over, finally getting past it, and then dying so you have to do it again will drive anyone insane. The music is super passive and relaxing, which probably helps with the rage-induced from this sort of gameplay. The adorable sound effects of the creatures either add to or subtract from the rage, and I have yet to work it out!

Maybe, it’s because I got to be a ninja with a hockey mask and robot claws, maybe, it’s just a good game, but whatever the reason is- I really enjoyed Drawn to Life: Two Realms. I’m a big fan of all sorts of puzzle games and, even though I’d have loved a “hint” button, I loved the happy nature and slow methodical increase of difficulty provided by this one. I’m also not much of a drawer, so it’s actually my preference over the original. Considering the low price, I’d highly recommend anyone that enjoys puzzles to give this a go.

Written by: HadesTheHobo