The Sun and Moon is a unique puzzle platformer developed by the one man team himself, Daniel Linssen. Interesting enough is the game was developed over a weekend for the initial version. The game was developed during Ludum Dare 29, which is a yearly convention for developers and programmers to show off projects they work on and they hold a competition, the premise is each developer has one weekend to create a game from scratch, best game wins, At the 29th annual event The Sun and Moon was the winner.

 

Previously released on the Steam and Playstation platforms, the game finally has made its way to Xbox. While we have seen gravity based platformers before such as 6180 The Moon, this game switches things up a bit by reversing gravity as you know it, and using platforms you can get into and fling your self out. Using momentum as means of travel.

The game starts out like most platformers, simple training missions to get you into the feel of things. But after the first few levels you get into some very difficult levels. My main problem was that I was so use to typical gameplay from other platformers that I had a hard time trying to figure some things out. This was a welcoming surprise, as I don’t always like going into a game already knowing what to expect.  Everything about how to complete the game is simple at first glance, you collect 3 items in each map to unlock the exit, with 150 levels there is plenty variety. But like I said difficulty is raised quite a bit each level, with more hazards, less room for mistakes and the size of levels sometimes feel daunting. Controls are a bit demanding as well. The game requires almost perfect timing and accuracy to reach some goals. While not impossible, it certainly isn't a walk in the park either.

 

Besides going from point A to B and collecting orbs along the way, there isn't much else the game offers, which isn't a bad thing. I myself am always looking for good games to pick up and play for 15-20 minutes, The Sun and Moon is perfect for this as you can beat a level or two in just a few minutes then go about your day. Which really makes me wish the game was released on the Windows Phone platform along with Xbox. I would love to have this game on my phone for those long bus and train rides to work.  Graphics in the game are nice and simplistic. Giving a art style that is minimalistic with a nice variety of background and platforms that complement each other well.

Achievements will be no easy task. Especially if you are new to puzzle platformers, with a list of 12 achievements worth a total of 1000G you will be tasked with the following, beating all 150 levels under a certain amount of time and obtaining 200 Sun and Moon medals. Which are for par time essentially. Overall you can expect about 10-15 hours of gameplay if you want to perfect the game. Or about 4-7 hours if you just want to complete the basics.

 

Retailing for a mere price of $6.99 USD, The Sun and Moon is perfect for pick up and play gaming. With unique platforming and challenging levels the game is appealing to a wide variety of gamers, even those who just like to casually game.

 

Final Score - 7/10

 

Written by John aka YoDz

Twitter @akaYoDz  Xbox: YoDz

John@nastymastadaddy.com

 

A code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review

 

You can purchase The Sun and Moon on the Xbox Store Here

 

Release Date - Friday‎, ‎January‎ ‎27‎, ‎2017

Price - $9.99

Download Size - 168.96 MB