Woven | Switch Review

I have always had a fascination for games out of the ordinary. Games that don’t appeal to the common gamers. Enter centerstage: Woven. A game with a world once inhabited by woolen species, and now, metal monsters. Metal spiders, beetles, and even a praying mantis. All of that added to this mysterious world where you, a cute and cuddly woolen creature, along with a metal firefly, have to figure out why these metal creatures are terrorizing the vibrant world of Woven.

An Unlikely Duo

You play as Stuffy, a stuffed animal that is the only one of its kind left in Woven. As you venture into a new location, you stumble across a weird metal contraption that is housing a firefly type machine. Glitch is its name; however, it doesn’t remember how it got there. It lost its memory somehow along the way. Stuffy then decides to help Glitch get back its memory and figure out why there is metal everywhere. Also helping to  figure out where all the other creatures like Stuffy disappeared to. Along the way there are many obstacles and scary looking mechanisms that help to modify Stuffy’s shape, abilities, and fabric. Fueled by the desire of Glitch, who wants to know its purpose on this planet. It also wants to figure out how the Moon is being suspended in the sky.

Woven is a well put together game that is sort of open-world, and yet there is only one way to play. Publisher StickyLock Studios and developer Alterego Games definitely put a lot of thought into this game, seeing as there is a lot of stuff to find on top of playing the main mission. Unfortunately, playing through this game, I started noticing that there was a lot of dialog that really wasn’t necessary.

Everything in this game is narrated in rhyming form. When you stumble across something new, it has a cutscene that can go on for ages. Although I didn’t really mind some of it, due to the lack of instruction on how to play. The narrator gives the hints, so you have to pay attention to it. Which gets hard if you put the game down for a day and try to come back. Besides all that, I really enjoyed the scenery, the story of it all, and the weird metal insects you encounter along the way.

Animal Blueprints

Stuffy is not restricted to only being an elephant in Woven. Once you get ahold of some blueprints, you can change to a rabbit, a cat, or even a lion. Each one of these blueprints has their own unique look, and unique ability. The elephant can slam the ground, whereas the rabbit can jump onto ledges. Or the bear can pick up things, and the dragon can fly. Every situation has an ability that fits. Although this seems interesting, we have to take into consideration that the controls are a bit tough to remember sometimes. The only thing you use is the left & right triggers, and the joysticks. One gives Glitch commands, and the other gives Stuffy commands.

The Artistic Look

Detailing Woven was probably a very meticulous job, and is deserving of props to the developing team at Alterego Games. You can see patterns in not only the ground, but even the weird stuffed whale while jumping out of the water. These small details make up for the lack of movement and exploring you encounter. What I mean by that is you cannot go far off the beaten path of the main mission without it stopping you, or the narrator saying something. It lacks the “open-world vibes” I think they were trying for.

Woven Final Verdict

If you want an easy game to beat in a few hours, I recommend Woven. No enemy being able to hurt you, the narration in rhyme, and the solving of puzzles are just a small sews in the fabric of time. This game is going to be in its prime. To play, it’s a bit more than a dime! Ok, I’m done with rhyme. For real though, check out the game. It’s a good one. You might want to ‘stitch’ your plans for the weekend, because you’ll be wanting to figure out the secret of Glitch’s and Stuffy’s past.

This review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy of Woven provided by Hound Picked Games for coverage purposes. It is also available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam.

Woven

$19.99

7

The Final Verdict

7.0/10

Pros

• Captivating Story
• Lots of Collectibles

Cons

• Too Much Narration
• Doesn't Allow You to Revisit World

Buy Woven on the Nintendo eShop Here