Couch co-op video games seem to be making a comeback, and we might have the very well-received It Takes Two to thank for it. A new local cooperative multiplayer game came, Blanc, released earlier this year for the Nintendo Switch and Steam. The game follows the journey of a wolf cub and a fawn who must work together to find their families when they find themselves stranded in a snowy wilderness after a storm or avalanche. One player controls the wolf cub while the other controls the fawn. It’s a charming idea, but is it worth playing? Let’s find out.
The Good
Blanc is one of the most visually-stunning games to come out of the last couple of years. It uses a beautiful hand-drawn style while still allowing the characters to move in a 3D space. It’s all done in black and white, but everything still stands out and it adds to the visual storytelling quite nicely. The animals are quite adorable as well. It’s overall a pleasure just to look at.
The piano music used as the game’s score is just as beautiful. It adds a level of emotion to each sequence that pulls in the player and makes them feel what the animals are feeling. Since there’s no dialogue, the music helps guide the story of the game quite nicely.
The puzzles throughout the game require enough thought to feel rewarding after being solved, but aren’t so difficult that they’re frustrating. They take full advantage of the game’s limited mechanics and create a creative experience. They’re not exactly Portal quality, but they’re still very well-throughout puzzles that are pretty fun to solve.
The game’s multiplayer is taken full advantage of. The characters work together by helping each other climb ledges, moving platforms for each other, and working together to push gates open. It’s a fully shared experience for both players. The wolf cub is able to cut ropes and crawl into small spaces while the fawn can jump onto high platforms and push objects. This allows both players to have a crucial role and work together in creative ways.
This is all tied together by a rather touching story. It’s charming, heartfelt, and all done with no dialogue which is just plain impressive. There are happy moments, sad moments, and even scary ones. It’s one that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. This story is simple, yet truly wonderful and powerful.
The Bad
Keeping the game’s camera under control can be an absolute nightmare. When the two characters separate (which they have to do for some puzzles and platforming), it tries to stick to each of them. It tries to keep them both in frame, but by doing so it makes it difficult to see where they need to go. There are even times when the camera is misleading by centering on something unimportant. It’s frustrating to put up with.
It’s sometimes far too difficult to tell what you’re able to jump on during the platforming segments. Instead of just being able to jump when you want, you have to find the exact correct spot that allows you to. This leads to walking around in circles and shoving your character into objects until the jump prompt appears. This can be just as frustrating as the camera. Thankfully, though, this doesn’t occur often.
Blanc is way too short of a game, especially for the price. The game can be completed in about two hours with nothing to go back and collect and nothing to really goof around with to extend that time. It’s a fun two hours, but after that time, you’ve seen everything the game has to offer. It’s a little bit of a let down if you were hoping to dive into a deeper multiplayer experience.
Conclusion
Blanc is a truly charming multiplayer experience with incredible artwork, a heartfelt story, and fun puzzles and platforming. It’s unfortunate that it suffers so much from a bad camera and short playtime. Otherwise, it is genuinely a delight for two players to play through together.
Rating: 7/10
Nonstop Nerd 