![Like No Other: The Legend of the Twin Books [Nintendo Switch] | REVIEW](https://i0.wp.com/www.useapotion.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/likeno-review.jpg?resize=1077%2C640&ssl=1)
Like No Other: The Legend of the Twin Books is one of those games that I had no idea existed before I was offered the chance to check it out, but was immediately drawn into thanks to a slick visual style. You’ve only got to look at the screenshots to see that it’s a very pretty game, whilst it also just so happens to look good in motion. Looks aren’t everything though, so how does it hold up as a point and click adventure? Well… it’s a bit so-so.
Check out some screenshots down below:
The game puts players in the role of Dan, an adventurer that’s looking to uncover the mysterious Spirits’ Book from the museum of Red Pines after the town was seemingly abandoned. This means solving puzzling, unravelling clues, and making his way through what remains of the derelict locale, all whilst dealing with the peculiar (and sometimes dangerous) situations he gets himself into.
If I’m being honest, it was hard to invest myself fully in the tale. Not only is there a lack of depth to the situation in Red Pines or Dan as a character, but the story beats lack any sense of tension, discovery, or humour. Even the NPCs you encounter bring little to the tale, instead offering a few little quips that don’t particularly add to the storytelling. It’s not that the narrative is bad, but that it felt too simple and didn’t do enough to make me feel all that interested in it.
“The game actually pushes itself as a family friendly point and click adventure and it’s telling in how easy it could be, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t fun.”
Fortunately, the puzzle-solving is a lot more enjoyable, with players having to gather items in the environment to interact with objects as well as do a bit of logical thinking to overcome the obstacles in their path. There’s a decent variety of things to do, and whilst Like No Other: The Legend of the Twin Books doesn’t offer any perplexing enigmas that’ll have players stumped for ages, I enjoyed solving its puzzles. The game actually pushes itself as a family friendly point and click adventure and it’s telling in how easy it could be, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t fun. Whether it’s re-routing the power in a garage, outwitting a wandering Roomba, stealthily avoiding wandering wolves, or figuring out the password to a PC, the puzzle design was enjoyable and kept me invested in the adventure.
My only real issue with the gameplay was that the controls felt needlessly awkward. Similar point and click puzzlers on the Nintendo Switch have allowed players to quickly switch between interactable items with a button press or allow players to walk to items to interact with them, but Like No Other: The Legend of the Twin Books has players move Dan around with the left stick but also move a cursor with the right stick that interacts with objects. It was unintuitive and made the simplest of actions feel needlessly awkward, whilst even switching items in your inventory felt cumbersome too. Want a piece of advice? Change the speed of the cursor in the menu, you won’t regret it.
Check out some screenshots down below:
Like No Other: The Legend of the Twin Books isn’t a particularly long game (I beat it in just over an hour whilst finding nearly all of the optional hidden caches to collect), so the issues it has don’t stay so long that they become too much of a frustration. There was enough good in the puzzling within that hour for it to outweigh the issues that annoyed me, so the brevity works to its advantage in some ways. On the flipside, Like No Other: The Legend of the Twin Books isn’t a cheap game, so some might think they’re not getting enough bang for their buck.
I’ve got to give praise to the visuals, which I was a big fan of. Like No Other: The Legend of the Twin Books has this Saturday Morning Cartoon-style of look that I’m especially fond of, with some quirky and creative designs ensuring the world felt interesting to explore. Some neat lighting effects add to the overall atmosphere, whilst the cutesy animations gave it all a bit more personality. I just really liked the way everything looked in the game and would have loved to have the seen more of what the world had to offer.
Like No Other: The Legend of the Twin Books Review
Like No Other: The Legend of the Twin Books has some fun puzzling, but an uninteresting narrative and frustrating controls do hold it back. It’s a bit short too (especially for the price), with it easily beaten in an hour (and probably less if you don’t take the time to explore the world).
Still, with its wonderful visuals, casual family-friendly approach, and sparks of creativity with its puzzling, Like No Other: The Legend of the Twin Books definitely has some appeal. It’s far from being the best point and click adventure that I’ve played and it could do with a lot improvements, but those who want a fleeting but enjoyable introduction to the genre should enjoy their time with the game.
Developer: Actoon Studio
Publisher: Actoon Studio
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch (Reviewed), Xbox One, PC
Website: https://actoonstudio.com/
