Incredible Mandy | PS4 Review
Have you ever had a dream so vivid and real, that you feel like it’s reality and don’t want it to end? Have you dreamt of flying horses or goblins with ballerina slippers dancing on stage? If not, then that’s on me. In the game Incredible Mandy, you play as a brother who is awoken, but in a dream. Each time you wake up from these dreams, you are in another one. These dreams are untold secrets that revolve around a brother and sister. What are they holding back? Why are they stuck in an endless loop of odd dreams that don’t make much sense? Only one way to find out is to close your eyes, and think of all things that are possible in your dreams.
Sword of Light
Incredible Mandy is an adventure/puzzle game through the dreams of a young brother and sister, searching for lost memories and people they once knew. As well as why the brother lost his hand. Every dream has a different vibe, and contains many puzzles that take a little bit of effort to overcome. Throughout your journey as the brother, you have a sword called ‘The Excalibur of Light,’ essentially acting as a key to figuring out specific puzzles. This sword can help with destroying a lock to another dream, creating a bomb to blow things up, or even to freeze time around you. Some combat is thrown in there to spice up the adventure, yet each encounter with an enemy is a different puzzle that keeps you on your toes.
The story of going from dream to dream walking through the past of the brother and sister, did not grab my attention very well at any point in Incredible Mandy. It was dull and seemed in sync to other puzzle/adventure games like Rime or Journey. I was surprised to find that the combat and changing of the intricate puzzles WAS, however, interesting. The Excalibur of Light was also an intriguing item/weapon to wield. Given the capabilities of any other sword, but also able to blow things up in a chain or help the legless robot to find hidden paths. I just could do without the silent story of why the brother lost his hand and why he’s chasing his sister through dreams.
Visuals
At first glance, each set point is easy on the eyes. When you start looking at the visuals more, it seems a bit ‘cheap’ around the edges. Yet, I love everything about it because it’s vibrant, fascinating, eye-catching, and inviting. It takes your mind off everything around you, which is dangerous. Incredible Mandy makes it feel like your eyes are in a dream of their own and can see every color not visible to the human eye.
Waking Up
Apart from the story feeling like it could use a total fix, the game was fun to play. The many random puzzles that actually irritated me in a good way, as well as tough boss battles, are both great. I thoroughly enjoyed the striking imagery that encapsulated the game and how unpolished it looked. It didn’t feel crowded with detail, but it also brought the environment to life. I recommend Incredible Mandy to those that like these kinds of adventure/puzzle games but take that with a grain of salt. The only thing good about this is the visual effects and the puzzling boss battles.
To hear me talk more about Incredible Mandy, be sure to listen to Episode 348 of The Gaming Outsider Podcast around the 1:19:46 time stamp.
This review is based on a PS4 copy of Incredible Mandy provided by PM Studios for coverage purposes. It is also available on Nintendo Switch, PC, and iOS.
Incredible Mandy
$14.99
