Before entering the marvelous world of Balan, the player must choose the character he wishes to embody. It can be a boy (Leo Craig) or a girl (Emma Cole), each of which can be declined in four different "hair/skin color" combinations. The introductory cinematic that follows, although precalculated, has the good taste to take our selection into account. It is also very pleasing to the eye, as are the many other cinematic sequences that run through the adventure. The game is indeed divided into twelve different chapters, each of which tells a particular little story, like a tale. Whether it's 'The Man Who Rises Against the Storm', 'The Diver and the Dolphin', 'The Girl with a Passion for Insects', 'The Boy Who Wanted to Be One with the wind", "The girl and the kitten" or even "The lady who loves birds", everyone is entitled to their little quality videos, as well as a musical "happy ending" once the local boss defeated. Indeed, Balan Wonderworld does not hesitate to play the musical comedy card to make his universe even more enchanting. This singularity works quite well and highlights the fictional language used during these songs.
This is not the only particularity of the game, which offers gameplay articulated around a single action button! By default, this command allows you to jump, and therefore to cross certain platforms or even to crush basic enemies. But the creator of Sonic not being born from the last rain, he obviously has something else to offer us. Each level contains a few costumes that can be put on to acquire a new skill. It can be an improved jump (long jump, Tazmanian devil-like whirling jump to destroy certain rocks, "ground-breaker" jump to smash posts or destroy certain blocks), a single attack (dragon that spits flames) or combined with a jump (discharge of electricity from the "meduzap"), a new way of moving (on a bubble, through thin walls, climbing on cobwebs present in the decorations) or even this or that variation of gameplay (gecko outfit to climb towards seeds, candle costume to light torches and burn wicks, cloudy sheep appearance to float on air currents, "minicog" disguise to operate mechanisms, etc.).
THE CLOTHES DO NOT MAKE THE MAN
If this profusion of costumes is a guarantee of a certain variety, and even of a certain variety, we can still notice some redundancies in the lot. For example, being able to move for a few moments on a bubble is more or less like a long jump mechanic. So there was room to cut a little in the fat. Especially since with more than 80 costumes on the counter, it is difficult to retain the effect of each outfit. This point is however essential because, a bit like a Metroidvania, it is necessary to return regularly to the levels already completed, equipped with costumes unlocked in later worlds, in order to be able to access previously unreachable areas. These comings and goings also seem a bit laborious. Conversely, the fights are too quickly dispatched. Hostile creatures that venture into our path usually die from the slightest hit, while it only takes two or three attacks to overcome the boss of each world. 
Exploration is therefore much more important than fighting, although it should be noted that tougher enemies eventually land when you go through the same level several times. Unfortunately, this exploration is complicated by a camera that acts up when our hero is attached to a wall. It then becomes impossible to find a suitable angle to observe the surroundings. This defect takes us straight back to the late 90s or early 2000s, just as the graphics will say gossip. It is true that the modeling of the decorations remains rather basic. In addition, the very colorful artistic direction that goes a little in all directions can both seduce and annoy. These dreamlike settings that sometimes distort or house oversized characters have their charm, but the graphic style also seems dated. It also regularly recalls that of Nights into Dreams, which dates all the same from 1996… To top it all off, Balan Wonderworld has its feet tripped up in terms of accessibility.
If the colorful graphics and simplistic fights seem to aim the adventure at a young audience, the lack of explanations on certain concepts comes to unnecessarily complicate the approach of the players. Whether it's the tower to be repaired in the central hub, the exact role of the various friendly creatures that are freed (the red ones help you attack, the pink ones bring back items...) or even the possibility to bring one of these "Tims" with us in the levels, everything is poorly explained. The game even allows itself never to inform the players of a functionality that is nevertheless essential: it is possible to draw from our reserve of costumes if you remain motionless for a few moments on a checkpoint. Knowing that it is necessary to wear such and such an outfit to pass such and such a section, this point would clearly have deserved to be taught to users. In the end, the whole game seems a bit wobbly and a bit dated. Yet we feel that there is a soul and a real potential behind these various blunders. Patience and benevolence are therefore required before embarking on the adventure, which most players may unfortunately not appreciate.
