Degrees of Separation | Xbox One Review

March 14, 2019 Chad Cusick

The worlds of fire and ice had existed a long time without one knowing of the other. In Degrees of Separation from Moondrop, Ember and Rime both awaken because they feel a disturbance in their worlds. As if brought together by destiny, they journey to the edges of their worlds to see the other across a bridge. As they meet, they fall and find themselves on a path to an abandoned castle. Inside they find a royal scarf whose light opens the gate in front of them. While their worlds cannot cross, they suddenly find themselves working together to discover why they have been brought together.

When Worlds Collide

In this 2D platformer, Ember and Rime have to figure out to use their separate worlds together to collect more scarves, and move deeper into the castle. You can control each of them separately or play local co-op with a friend. As Ember, you can walk through water, light lanterns, and bring sulfur jets to life that will send you flying. Rime’s world of ice freezes all water around, turn lanterns off, and allows him to build snow mounds and create paths.

The lanterns spread throughout the game will raise and lower different platforms, move them side-to-side, or open and close different gateways. The only other ability for either is jumping; the other two buttons you use will switch characters or call the other character to catch up to you. The game places an emphasis on utilizing how the worlds do or do not interact with each other. The controls are simple, but that does not mean working together is.

A Puzzling Affair

The abandoned castle contains many different worlds that open up as you collect more scarves. Each world alters their relationship and how they can work together to solve each puzzle. One world allows you to build a physical bridge using the barrier between the worlds, while another creates an explosion launching Ember and Rime away from each other. The new abilities may seem as much a hindrance as a help. They may open one door and close another, so each contains its own challenge.

Not only do they discover new abilities, they also learn more about the castle along the way. They find a mysterious ore that affects how their worlds interact with each other, a dragon following you along your way, a tale of a king and queen passed. Finding out how these all relate is the only way to find out if Ember and Rime can ever cross the barrier between their worlds and actually be together.

While some puzzles in Degrees of Separation are obvious on how to move forward, others increase the challenge forcing you to figure out how to work together. The varying degree of difficulty is obvious, but not a deterrent. If you want to be perfect in the game you will have to work for it, or you can collect what you need to enjoy the story.

The game itself is very serene. The music is relaxing and helps the puzzle-solving atmosphere. It is all instrumentals so you can focus on the story and game. The scenery and graphics are incredibly well done. The transitions of the backgrounds from fire to ice and back is smooth and uninterrupted. It makes for a nice gameplay experience overall.

Degrees of Separation Final Verdict

Moondrop did a good job of putting the puzzler Degrees of Separation together. It has an interesting enough storyline to keep you moving from puzzle to puzzle. The difficulty should not cause you to quit, but you may need some breaks here and there. Add that to the music and scenery, and you get a game every puzzle fan will enjoy in Degrees of Separation.

This review is based on an Xbox One copy provided by Evolve PR for coverage purposes and is also available on Windows PC, PS4, and Nintendo Switch.