Writings of Mass Deduction

How did I not know this game existed before? It was released on the indie games channel *four years ago*! It’s from developer Alpha Secret Base (AKA DK Alpla, who also released “WispLisp Array of List”) among several other games I’ve yet to review.

And it’s incredible.

“KAITEN PATISSIER” is a platformer where you can rotate the entire world around you. What great about it is that the mechanic isn’t a gimmick but an integral part to the level design and the puzzles. If you took the screen rotating gimmick out of the game, there simply would be no game at all.

The games start easily enough, but gets challenging over time. Not the insanely tough kind of challenging, but the kind that makes you work the grey matter for a bit to solve. Other common platforming tropes are here, such as things to collect and areas to explore (and there’s a lot of pleasure in exploring walls and ceilings that would be mere decoration in most platformers), but it’s the world spinning mechanic that really sets it apart for 80 Microsoft Points.

Here’s what the developer (DK Alpla) has to say about the game:

“つかんで回転！材料を集めてお菓子を作ろう！お菓屋さんの女の子ピピを操作して材料を全部集めるとステージクリア！壁を掴むと地面が回転する不思議な世界で全５０面のアクションパズルに挑戦しよう！ファンタジー回転アクションパズル。動く喜びをあなたにも。操作方法、A:回転、B:ジャンプ、Y:メニュー。Copyright 2009 あるふぁ～秘密基地(Alpha Secret Base). All Rights Reserved.”

Bing Translor translation: “Rotated, grasp! Gather the materials and make sweets! Working girl confectionery shop in Phi Phi, collect all the ingredients and clear the stage! From 50 surface action puzzle to challenge in the world of wonder and grip the wall turns ground! Fantasy rotation action puzzle. The joy of moving into your. How to work with, A: rotation, B: jump, Y: menu. Copyright 2009 Alpha ~ secret base (Alpha Secret Base). All Rights Reserved.”