Incredible Mandy

Incredible Mandy was reviewed on a PS4

The pen is mightier than the sword; this saying rings true in Incredible Mandy as your magically enchanted sword can only be used to solve puzzles (and to fight the occasional boss fight) in this charming yet tedious minimalistic adventure game.

What is Incredible Mandy?

Incredible Mandy is a third person adventure game with a charming presentation and a mysterious storyline. It’s set in a whimsical world, which you’ll have to navigate as you try to overcome the constant obstacles that the game keeps throwing your way. You play as an unnamed protagonist (Probably named Mandy) looking for your missing sister.

The story is barely fleshed out and is left up to the players’ interpretation. Story wise, the three ambiguous animated cutscenes and the comic book collectables are the only exposition you’ll get. It’s hard to keep playing a game that expects me to solve its puzzles and progress without giving me enough motivation to do so.

A Sword Unlike Any Other

The game’s environmental puzzles all boil down to using your trusty magic swords to open doors, summon your robot companion or defeat the game’s well-designed bosses. The swords can be stuck on walls or on the floor, and they can be linked together to solve a large variety of puzzles. By swinging your sword at them, you’ll cause a chain reaction that activates whatever is near them.

You can also use a bow to “activate” the swords but it’s rarely used. Besides the boss fights and the platforming, this is how you’ll spend your time in Incredible Mandy. It’s an interesting idea for a puzzle game, but its let down by its execution, as most of them aren’t that remarkable or challenging.

You’re never really stuck in place in your playthrough since most puzzles can be solved in a few minutes, so they’re not very rewarding or satisfying to solve. This makes Incredible Mandy a decent game for younger audiences or for people who generally dislike solving challenging puzzles.

A Variety of Locations

There’s a wide variety of locations to explore in each of the game’s levels; Woodlands, a floating city, a hot lava, a city in the desert just to name a few. The first level, the floating castle, was a bit repetitive and boring, but fortunately later levels were much better designed.

A city floating high above the clouds is a fitting first location for a game with a minimal aesthetic such as Incredible Mandy. However, it lasts for way too long and sets the game off on the wrong foot. It took about an hour or so to finish this location, and it was littered with the same puzzles, although sprinkled with a bit of variation. Despite the large spaces of Incredible Mandy’s dream-like locations, they feel very barebones and empty.

Incredible Mandy lacks any compelling exploration, as the only collectibles available are the previously mentioned comic book pages. They offer a bit of exposition by showing you some of the siblings’ memories. That’s a shame since some of the locations such as the huge woods and the floating castle are charming, but they serve as nothing more than a pretty background for the puzzle solving.

What I did enjoy was the many platforming sections, but those are also bogged down by the sluggish and imprecise controls. All of the issues of Incredible Mandy can be forgiven if the game’s controls were responsive and solid. Unfortunately, they’re not. The protagonist’s movements are sluggish and floaty, meaning you’ll often miss a gap and fall to your death. However, I can’t deny that I enjoyed the platforming sections despite the clunky controls.

The best part of the game are hands down the boss fights, which are entertaining and creative. They allow you to use almost all of the abilities in your disposal, and often felt as if they’re another puzzle to solve instead of an actual combat encounter.

Overall,

Incredible Mandy does have a few good ideas here and there, but the abstract storyline and the lack of rewarding exploration really hurts its appeal. While the visuals are great and you’ll be a bit entertained with the puzzles, the lackluster controls really hold the game back and makes solving the puzzles a chore.

The lack of combat outside of the boss fights is also a shame considering that the game’s puzzles are largely solved using the protagonist’s magical sword. The game used to have a combat system, but it was removed in later versions. I was sad to hear that, as the addition of combat would’ve added a welcomed variety to the game, even if it weren’t perfect.

The boss fights are so enjoyable and creatively designed that they deserve all the praise they can get. However, they’re not enough to carry the game, and the lackluster controls means the repetitive puzzles will leave you frustrated more than once.

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Special thanks go to Team Critical for providing us with a review code.

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You should play Incredible Mandy if you

• Would love to explore the different locations
• Don’t mind the lack of exploration
• Enjoy the minimalistic aesthetic
• Don’t mind the clunky controls
• Love adventure games
• Don’t mind the lack of a clear storyline

Incredible Mandy’s Score

5.5/10