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Murasaki Baby
PlayStation Vita
Released On: Sep 16, 2014
69
7.0
All Platforms
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 48 Critic Reviews
69
40% Positive
19 Reviews
19 Reviews
56% Mixed
27 Reviews
27 Reviews
4% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 48 Critic Reviews
69
40% Positive
19 Reviews
19 Reviews
56% Mixed
27 Reviews
27 Reviews
4% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
This might not be something that I go back to often, but it’s left me satisfied in a way that not many games do.
Murasaki Baby is a beautiful, dark, and emotionally powerful experience that makes wonderful use of the Vita’s strengths.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 70 User Ratings
7.0
53% Positive
37 Ratings
37 Ratings
33% Mixed
23 Ratings
23 Ratings
14% Negative
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 70 User Ratings
7.0
53% Positive
37 Ratings
37 Ratings
33% Mixed
23 Ratings
23 Ratings
14% Negative
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
Murasaki Baby is a strange little beast, a puzzle-platformer developed by Italian studio Ovonsonico exclusively for Sony’s Vita platform. It’s a game that is as unique as you will find, with a tone that feels like the love child of Tim Burton & Lewis Carroll with the colour palette of an old sketched children’s book.
Our little protagonist ‘Baby’ as she is known is quite unlike anything else out out there. She is a seemingly malformed nightmare child that wouldn’t seem out of place in Alice in Wonderland or a Brothers Grimm tale. She also has a lot of personality for a character with no actual dialogue. I love how her expressions can be just as strong through the eyes and little gasps or garbled noises she makes.
The premise is simple, we must guide ‘Baby’ back home, aided only by our little love heart balloon and itchy trigger fingers on the Vita’s touchscreen. Murasaki Baby utilises the Vita’s touchpad in such a fantastic way, you won’t control anything in this game by the D-pad or right buttons, and it works flawlessly. You guide Baby literally by holding her hand with your index finger through each level. You help her jump over ledges, tap out enemies as well as flip between backgrounds that drastically change the game’s dynamic with the Vita’s rear touchpad . This is a puzzle platformer through and through with each background we flip causing different things to appear or creating new actions that can be performed. For instance, jumping between ledges may require quick flicks of the touchpad to create new ledges and a sharp memory to remember which background will create our next step. Everything from causing thunderstorms to controlling a huge beast to wreak havoc with mini earthquakes are present, and this creates a really cool dynamic in the game, especially when all these elements begin to intertwine later in the game.
Director Massimo Guarini (Shadows of The damned, Killer7) nails a truly unique setting and atmosphere. The theme of protector is strong, and as a player you genuinely feel compelled to help guide Baby back to safety through the dark surroundings and shadows that linger around her. It’s also a land of enemies and sights that remind me of what scared me as a child and I really love how the game struck a chord like that for me , even if it is a creepy one.
Another standout feature of the game is the unsettling, yet intricate score by Gianni Ricciardi and Silent Hill’s Akira Yamaoka. It is tense, dark and foreboding and superbly supports the tone and sense of immersion. Like a lot of cool indie games of late (Child of Light, Journey and Hohokum spring to mind) it is a better score than most AAA games on the market right now. Overall, Murasaki Baby is a little indie gem for Sony’s underrated handheld. It’s a game that feels like director Guarini has left it’s underlying themes of loss and despair up to individual interpretation. It certainly hit me in a personal way and I’m sure it will for you too.
****
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PlayStation Vita
i really enjoyed this game. it is fully a touch game except for one section. the game is too short but enjoyable. got it from ps plus. it had a save glitch so i need to complete the game in one sitting. that is the only cons here. otherwise the game is definitely worth a try! 9/10..
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PlayStation Vita
Murasaki Baby is a game that offers adventure, platforming and puzzles so a girl can reunite again with her dear mother. If you like games that give you 'something else' and you dream about Tim Burton's next movie, this could be your game. A nice beginning for Ovosonico's people.
Still, Murasaki Baby does a great job of introducing a steady climb towards multitasking where inputs on both rear and front touch panels require delicate planning.
We made it one of our favorite games on PS Vita since we saw it during the gamescom 2013. More than its Burton-style, Murasaki Baby seemed to offer an interesting gameplay, perfectly suited for PS Vita. But the game is too short to be remembered. Only 2 hours will be enough to complete the four chapters of the journey, without any possibility of a new game plus. At least, it won't be bad for your wallet.
The visual style of the game is striking, but the touch-based controls make it clumsy and can cause large amounts of rage. Murasaki Baby makes a great airport game: if you have the patience and an awkward portion of time on your hands, it’ll definitely keep your mind preoccupied.
Murasaki Baby is a textbook example of style over substance. The game’s twisted fantasy world certainly looks the part, but its touch-based puzzles are the real nightmare at times. There are some clever moments here, but they’re undone by atrocious controls.
This little project is really special! I can give this game "must play", because of lvl design, sound design, creative ideas (omg, ending is mind-blowing), visualisation and finally unique game experience. This game is hidden gem. Story, without a word.
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PlayStation Vita
It's focus is on its unique style and using just about every one of the Vita's unique features. It's primarily a touchscreen game, but use of the gyroscope controls pop up from time to time. The way the game has you interact with the protagonist by literally holding her hand allows you to establish a bond with the character that few other games have. It really put it perspective that it was my job to keep the "Murasaki Baby" safe and I cared more about her as a result. It's an incredibly impressive feat that leads to satisfying payoff.
The gameplay consist of puzzles and guiding the little girl to safety. You'll be switching backgrounds that have different abilities that allow you to progress. The puzzles aren't too tough so the real challenge comes from juggling how many touchscreen controls the game has you using at once. It can get a bit irritating at times. The more commands it throws on you at once the more tedious it can become. Thankfully things never get too tough so the fun is almost always there. It's also a very brief experience. The bad thing about that is there isn't any reason to give it another go after completing it.
That beings up the question of why pay for it if there's not much content? The answer is originality. Yes, it is over before you know it and yes it can be frustrating at times, but with such a unique style and original gameplay there is something here. If you are looking for something new that shows off just how all of the Vitas unique features can be used in a game I recommend it. But if you are looking for something that will back up the purchase with a lengthy experience you are going to want to look elsewhere. It's a flawed game, but a relatively cheap one. Whether or not the content is worth the money depends on what you are looking for. Overall though it's a nice game that has reasons to check it out.
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PlayStation Vita
Artistically cool. The problem are in the touch that often is no working at all and this is a mess because it has potential. It ends too fast too but i suggest to play it. Cheap price too!
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PlayStation Vita
It's not a good game, not at all. The atmosphere is ok, the bunnies are cool and the soundtracks by Akira Yamaoka are awesome. I'm giving this a 7 only because of the 2 soundtracks which I recall were from Yamaoka.
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PlayStation Vita
A deception. It is slow, there is so few "true game" parts that is difficult to call it a game, you pass more or less all the time walking, and it even has some bugs. I wanted to like this game, but... I don't.
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PlayStation Vita
Summary Murasaki Baby tells the story of a little girl who wakes up in a weird world, populated by children's fantasies and fears. Holding a purple, heart-shaped balloon in her hand, she feels lost, homesick and vulnerable. She wants her mommy.
Rated E
for Everyone
Platforms:
- PlayStation Vita
Initial Release Date: Sep 16, 2014
Developer:
- Ovosonico
Publisher: SCEA
Genres:
