Kombinera Review

Kombinera is a 2D puzzle platformer in which you'll have to control several balls at the same time — each with their own powers — to fuse them and finish the level. The game's premise is simple, and it's plainly and truthfully told to you on the Steam page without any "glow-ups" in-between; something I was thankful for, as I knew what I was walking into before I'd even played my first level.

One of my favourite phrases with games like these is "deceptively simple", but Kombinera does not sell itself as simple; it straight up tells you how difficult the levels are by mentioning them as "perilous" in the Steam description. What starts as a tutorial comprised of simple levels swiftly turns into a mind-boggling journey where you'll need to control five balls at the same time, each with their unique obstacles and powers, and somehow find a way to make it all work out in the end to fuse them.

It's safe to say that Kombinera would be frustrating and infuriating if not for the ingenious level design. Whenever I became stuck in a level, I have to sit back and observe: each level is built in a particular way that feels as if it tells you almost exactly what you have to do and how to do it. This meant that I spent some deaths trying to figure out the level hands-on and, if all else failed, I'd sit back and analyse what the developers were telling me with the way the level was built. Kombinera is only as hard as you are stubborn, and I found that to be a charming premise.

To keep the game fresh throughout the 300 levels to beat (and several bonus levels that will make you want to cry), Kombinera offers new balls with unique powers that you will need to fuse in order to pass through a certain obstacle. Purple can't be killed by spikes, yellow breaks other yellow bricks; fusing those two means that you have a ball that can neither be killed by purple spikes and can break yellow bricks. This meant that, even on the rare occasion where a level design that had been used before was used again, it felt new because of the new powers that forced me to think of a different approach.

One of my favourite aspects of Kombinera is how smoothly the game implements different mechanics, offering tutorial levels that feel as simple the first one to let you get accustomed to your new power. This is a great way to slowly get used to what the new ball does, how to handle it, and how it'll work on the larger levels.

For players seeking more of a challenge (as if managing five balls at the same time wasn't difficult enough), scattered throughout the levels are optional crowns that you can acquire. These often require you to approach the level differently in order to beat it and are a fun (and incredibly challenging) experience. Despite how much I loved the crown collectibles, I was thankful to see that the game didn't force one into every single level; it proved that the developers cared more for the level design than adding needless collectibles. Aside from those, each level has a "par" time that you can try to beat in order to get a little flag beside the level. These optional challenges offer yet another layer for those that really want to test themselves and milk the game of every bit of content available.

I was thankful to see that the death screen is pretty much nonexistent, seeing as death accompanies you throughout your entire journey. A quick death meant that I'd be right back to the start of the level without intrusive menus, allowing me to jump straight back into the fray and try my hand at dying another dozen times. That said, the death transition wasn't all perfectly smooth for me, as in level 64 I noticed a bothersome mechanic that wouldn't let me start moving immediately after respawning. Since in the level I was pressed right between two blocks that required precise movement, it was irksome to have to wait for the game to finally let me move. This was only made worse because I needed to pass the level swiftly, since I was trying to complete every level at the fastest time, and it only led to many needless deaths because I didn't know when I could or couldn't move.

While you're crying (or raging, there's no in-between with Kombinera), soothing retro tunes perfectly match the game's old-fashioned visuals. Although the graphics are meant to be old-school, a bloom effect perfectly contrasts it to offer a mixed experience; a retro game set in the present. Paired with this, the developers added an option for several colour-blindness modes, along with disabling bloom and screen shake for those that didn't care for it, something I found very welcoming.

Despite simplistic visuals, the game’s bright colours contrasted perfectly against the nigh pitch-black background, which made it look gorgeous on my OLED display. My favourite part of the visuals, however, was the extremely handy grid system that helped indicate which ball might roll into its death if you moved another just a touch too far. This further facilitated gameplay, allowing a perfect visual representation for what might be the best approach. It is one of those nice scenarios where the gameplay and visuals amalgamate to further enhance the experience.

Alas, Kombinera's unfortunate downfall is its overly-complex nature. As a person that loves binging games for several hours on end, Kombinera's mind-boggling levels left me fatigued from playing after a dozen or so levels, forcing me to take a step back and recompile my brain cells to tackle the next one. Perhaps a dozen levels might not sound so taxing, but given that they get increasingly complex, the notion of tackling 300 at a time makes Kombinera seem like an absolute behemoth to surpass. Essentially, my singular complaint about Kombinera is that I couldn't play more of it in one sitting; the game tired me before I felt I had my fill.

That said, Kombinera isn't too difficult in the sense that it feels like any level is particularly impossible, for enough patience and thinking will get you through them. Although I did feel hopelessly dense when playing the game's ingenious levels, it was an exhilarating burst of excitement making it out the other side and finally completing the challenge.

This is all to say that Kombinera is a great puzzle platforming game with very challenging levels that left me feeling perplexed after only a handful of them. If you like puzzle games, don't mind feeling stupid from time to time, and are willing to spend several hundred deaths on some of the later levels, few puzzle games have offered me the feeling of accomplishment the way Kombinera has. It is worth noting, however, that Kombinera is best experienced via short bursts. This might just be the Dark Souls of puzzle platformers!... Sorry, I had to.