- Very cute graphic style
- Difficult levels
- Not enough explanation within the game
I really, really wanted to love Winged. I am a fan of this sort of charming, rarely seen art style, and it drew me in. Runner-type games can be a bit hit or miss, but I had an open mind! The idea of sharing storybooks through a little runner sounded very fun, so I wanted to check it out.
Winged is a mobile platformer where you are running forward, sometimes colliding with wings to give yourself different abilities. One wing gives you a double jump, one works as a sort of extra life so you cannot get hurt, and another one lets you go slightly faster. You can avoid and jump into the wings you want to use when they come up. There are also buttons that act as lives on the level, along with different pages of books that you can collect.
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My first issue was with the hazards. Though other characters are clearly meant to be avoided, there are things like spikes and wheels with dangerous bits, that really blend in with the background, making it very hard to see. There are also pitfalls, which instantly kill you, which sometimes are nearly impossible to avoid. As a full adult, I struggled through levels, and when I let my daughter have a go, she had even worse luck.
Winged feels quite clunky without a lot of forgiveness in jumping and avoiding things. When it comes to the first boss fight, there is no real explanation on how to defeat them, so it just loops the level endlessly, with the boss firing at you the whole time. Frustration was a real feeling when playing Winged, despite the charming graphics.
There are a bunch of storybooks to collect, which will allow you to read real samples from the books that inspired the zones. However, this is in the bookshelf area of the menu, which does feel separate from the actual platformer. You can also unlock some items to customize your avatar, but that screen feels clunky as well, putting a checkmark on not just what you are wearing, but everything you’ve ever touched.