Home » Reviews » Review: Murasaki Baby
Reviews

Review: Murasaki Baby

Murasaki Baby is very weird. There’s not another way to describe it that works better for me. Sure it’s quirky and interesting. One could call it different, or suggest that it’s a game that thinks outside the box. It challenges conventions perhaps? We might even call it artistic.

But honestly, it’s just weird.

Looking like a mish-mash of Tim Burton’s most twisted creations, South Park and the world of Salad Fingers, Murasaki Baby is certainly visually striking. Couple that with an entirely touch-based control method and you have a game that just screams “indie darling”. Murasaki Baby wants to hang out with Flower, Journey and The Unfinished Swan in Sony’s indie clique, but a range of problems prevent it from being considered amongst such lofty company.

It’s a good game. Let’s get that clear. It’s just not amazing. The premise has promise though it’s derailed by awkward control issues and ham-fisted attempts at social commentary.

murasaki-baby-2
The game begins with Baby waking up alone, without her mummy. Her only company is a heart-shaped balloon, which she clings to desperately. The balloon acts as a pseudo health meter so keeping it out of danger is imperative. Baby may seem to be in danger, but she really can’t be hurt. It’s all about the balloon.

Baby wants her mummy and aside from a wide range of noises and coos, “mummy” is the only intelligible thing she utters. She’s not directly controllable though and to make her move you’ll have to take her hand via the Vita’s front touchscreen and lead her through the nightmarish hellscapes she inexplicably resides within. Here’s where I encountered my first problem with Murasaki Baby.

The fundamental control method is a brave and interesting choice and it’s one that fits the game’s motif, but it fails far too often to be called a success. For one, my man-sized hands kept obscuring my view of the game. Also, at least 50% (if not more) of the time the touchscreen would stop sensing my finger and Baby would stop. Or it’d sense I was pulling too hard and Baby would fall over. These two occurrences happened time and time again. The flow of the game was almost non-existent because of it and thus I felt disconnected and disengaged from what was happening on the (obscured) screen.

murasaki-baby-1
The use of the Vita’s rear touchscreen is (shockingly) the game’s greatest success. Throughout Baby’s journey she meets a variety of odd denizens, some with a balloon of their own. Upon popping them with a tap of your finger you unlock the ability to change the world’s background with a sideways swipe on the back touch screen. This grants Baby a wide variety of indirect abilities which all tie directly into the game’s puzzle solving.

The changed backgrounds perform all sorts of tricks ranging from creating a strong breeze, flipping the world upside down, transforming the balloon into a stone and distracting a frenemy with televisions. Each of the game’s four unique(ish) worlds has its own set of backgrounds which are used increasingly together and in more rapid succession to solve puzzles. Not one of the puzzles was a genuine challenge because of the puzzle itself, they were a struggle on occasion because of the control method though. Frustratingly so, in some cases.

When the puzzles and controls work, Murasaki Baby can be quite rewarding. As such, it’s definitely worth playing, once. I can’t see myself ever needing or wanting to replay Murasaki Baby. The story is vague yet obvious and a second playthrough won’t yield any new nuggets not gleamed the first time around. There’s a message to be found in Murasaki Baby, but it’s not one that’s going to leave you mouth agape, pondering it for hours after you’ve completed it. It’s a more “oh yeah, that’s nice” kind of story.

It definitely feels at home on the Vita and deserves some credit for — at least — attempting to use the Vita’s functions in meaningful ways. Fans of the quirky, indie and odd only need apply. And remember that I warned you: above all else, this game is weird.

Murasaki Baby

The good

  • A clever use of the Vita.
  • Simple, intriguing narrative.

The bad

  • Unresponsive controls.
  • Very short.

Want to know more about our scoring scale?

Tags

This article may contain affiliate links, meaning we could earn a small commission if you click-through and make a purchase. Stevivor is an independent outlet and our journalism is in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative.

About the author

DeltaPhoenix08