Background
Typoman was released on November 19, 2015 to only the Wii U platform and is an indie game developed by Brainseed Factory. Typoman is a charming little game that is one of the indies that represent Nintendo’s recent dedication and love for indie games and the teams that develop them. Typoman is a game that will challenge the players knowledge of language and the ability to contsruct words relevant to the situation. The game is a platformer where the protagonist must traverse grueling terrain where just about everything wants to kill him. It is a cool concept that, sadly, fizzles out rather quick and all your left with is a pocket that is $13 lighter.
Design
Typoman uses a very unique style to it’s visuals and gameplay. Most of the games interactive landscapes and contraptions are built from words and the Hero must create words from surrounding letters to help him make his way through puzzles and defeat enemies. Even the enemies themselves are crafted from words such as doom, hate and fear and can only be deafeated by spelling words that counteract the core word of the enemy and shield the hero from their attacks. The word “Lie” is very intersting as it will form a small creature that, when making contact with an enemy changes it to opposite word, such as “Fear” becoming “Brave” and so on.
Another issue I have with this game comes in about halfway through the story when all the puzzles begin to involve only a letter dispenser, that you have to stare at until you figure out what word is applicable to the situation at hand. It seems like halfway through the game they just kind off gave up and decided that this would be an easy cop out to speed up development even after delaying it’s release.
Life and Death
Meaning and symbolism is just oozing out of this game and you really would have to be blind to play the game and not see it. I interpreted the game as having a pro-creativity undertone, with the letters constantly being destroyed by laser-shooting turrets with the word “Censor” glowing above it, while the hero tries to spell out words to solve puzzles. It seemed to me that the game was a metaphor for people being opressed in their freedom of expression and in that aspect I believe the game very well succeeds.
In the beginning of the game we see the hero come across a second arm with a “P” on it and as you are about to recieve your new appendage it is taken away by Fenrir who serves as a primary Antagonist and throughout the rest of the game I found myself wondering what the word could be when I got the other arm. after all the pondering I was very underwhelmed to find out it was actually “Hoper” which honestly I thought was kind of corny and not very inspired. In my first reaction I thought that I would be collecting powerups throughout the game that would turn me into a “Superhero” but I was obviously wrong in my assumptions. The game comes down to a climax fight between the hero and the villain both sporting coressponding words of “Life” and “Death” and was a very impactful visual to watch but it just wasn tsomething that I can see sticking with me as one of those great moments of gaming that I just have to share with others.
Length
Perhaps the most blaringly obvious fault of this game is it’s length. My roommate and I were able to beat the game in about two and a half hours. Usually I am not one to hate on games with short runtimes as usually it is function that is utilized by the game to help promote replayability with multiple playthroughs. However this is not the case with Typoman as it has an incredibly short runtime with absolutely no replay value. There is nothing that comes from playing the game over again unless you want to do the exact same thing for a second time. Individually a short runtime and lack of replayability arent the end of the world but when are together it makes for a game that is rarely worth the price. If this game retailed for cheaper than its $13.99 pricetag then it might be a little more worth it, but I believe the price is to steep for the amount of content your getting.
Verdict
While this game provided my friends and I with a few hours of fun and enjoyment, It falls incredibly short, literallly. I couldnt believe it when the credits started to roll and I. I cant see this game having much replay value despite all the symbolism, which, as a writer I am in love with. While the game undoubtedly has charm I see little reason to replay it or give it any more time after you complete it for the first time. Unfortunatley that undoubtable charm that this game has just isnt enough to sustain this game past its first playthrough. I think there are so many better option avaible for purchase on the Wii U and you should definitely look elsewhere for sustainable life in a game.
