The vast majority of my reviews these days are of games I want to play. I usually browse the XBLIG and look for what tickles my fancy. Every now and then a game just has an aethstetic that jumps out at me and demands I investigate further. That is exactly the case with Rob Louie‘s platformer “Cutouts!”

Gameplay

There is substantial common ground between Cutouts and most games within the platformer genre. For example, the character can run, jump, dispatch enemies by landing on them, and collect 100 items for an extra life. So far so good. This is definitely safe territory when it comes to platformers.

The jump physics of “Cutouts!” is pretty lenient as it ditches the harsh realities of inertia and gives you a great deal of aerial motility. This lets you stop moving forward or backward on a dime while in the air making the more precarious platforms a much more reasonable challenge. There is also the added flare of landing on enemies while holding the jump button for additional jump height. This becomes one of the most important tools in your arsenal and adds a good deal of fun to the experience.

As far as enemies go there seems to be an adequate amount of diversity. What is really noteworthy here is one hangup I had with enemies that pursue the player. After an enemy is off the screen a certain distance, they appear to simply stop their regularly scheduled movement. This creates situations where enemies that have been specifically spaced for purposes of chain kills and platforming can become awkwardly positioned adding considerably to difficulty.

Speaking of difficulty, there was a surprising amount to be had in Cutouts. The source of much of the games difficulty are its limited lives and lack of a true continuation system. I say a “true” continuation system because what it does have is a volatile system that allows you to restart at the beginning of each of the three worlds. However, if you exit the game and return you must restart from the first level. While playing it sometimes was a source of frustration, but also added a healthy sense of risk to the game. So in retrospect, I do think it contributes in a positive way to the gameplay.

From a gameplay perspective Cutouts doesn’t do much of anything to really innovate, but that doesn’t mean it disappoints. The game functions well, has an appropriate level of polish on it, and I appreciate its elegant design. This all adds up to a pretty enjoyable, yet occasionally frustrating, experience.

Audio/Visual

If I had to use just one word to describe “Cutouts!” I would have to say: charming. The game is just fun to look at. It has a unique aesthetic that just teleports you back the arts and crafts days of your child hood where anything became a resource for artistic expression. In this case Rob Louie has used fabric and buttons and thread visuals for absolutely every part of the game’s visuals. The backgrounds are worthy of special note. I on more than one occasion found myself staring off into the multilayered parallaxed distance as the scenes scrolled by at varying speeds across the screen. Just plain delightful, it made the game.

The music and sound effects are all good. The music in particular suits the game quite well and does more than simply break the silence. All the aspects of the audio enhances the experience, but does not define the experience.

Summary

There are a couple flaws, but nothing that discourages me from recommending the game to platformer fans. The visuals of the game were the driving force behind my initial purchase, but their stylized nature may make them a matter of personal preference. Rest assured though, if you are uninspired by the visuals, there still is a very well built game to be had here as well. As far as playtime it seemed to clock in between three and four hours. The game is 80 Microsoft Points is easy for me to slap the “buy” rating on.