What Lies In The Multiverse Preview: Shifty

What Lies in the Multiverse was one of those titles I’d been meaning to look at, but nothing struck me as “Fetch me my saddle, we must make haste for this adventure!”. Not much makes me say that, not since the incident.

Anyway, it’s got a lot going for it. First of all, Untold Tales are consistent with the unique titles that they publish – in this case, it’s the work of Studio Voyager and IguanaBee. However, it’s a pixel art game, and while there are some brilliant titles out there, it wasn’t shouting at me.

Now I’ve played the demo, my opinion has changed, and I’m going to suggest that you wishlist it now (so you don’t forget), and perhaps download it yourself and get some feels. First off, it’s very funny, has nice visuals (yeah, I said it), but more importantly, the ‘mechanic’ in the game is awesome.

You might have seen it all before, pressing a button to shift realities. It’s nothing new, though I can’t think of anything off the top of my fingertips (that’s my thought process: type), What Lies in the Multiverse uses a technique that is crucial to gameplay as you’ll frequently be shifting realities. But wait: what’s it all about?

I may have missed if the protagonist has a name, so we’re referring to them as Kid. Kid is shut away in his bedroom for days, working on a groundbreaking program that will enable him to shift realities. It works, and before he knows it, he’s in an alternate reality getting contradictory advice from Buddhist-like NPCs. 

Before he can even think CTRL-ALT-DEL, he meets up with Everett – a time lord, kinda, that can willingly shift through the multiverse, but Kid’s software has ballsed things up. After befriending Kid and convincing him to return to the entry point of his brief adventure, Everett destroys the computer, leaving Kid pleading with him to take him across said multiverse for shits and giggles.

And that’s the premise of the What Lies in the Multiverse demo. It’s a thinking platformer as from the outset you’ll be moving boxes to reach ledges, but instead of shifting to an alternate reality to bypass a wall, you’ll be jumping then switching realities mid-air. 

The timing is pretty damn good, and besides using this technique to progress, you’ll be rapidly pressing as you move about in case there’s something worth seeing. One of the things I was doing with my daughter was standing next to an NPC and switching so that they would be alive then a dusty pile of bones “Dead, alive, dead, alive…” this went on for some time, and neither of us got bored.

Shifting between the multiverse is a highlight, but I have to say that this game is incredibly funny. The timing, dialogue, and subtle animations the characters perform are hilarious and confirm that my gut instinct when checking out a game is clearly on the blink. Don’t listen to your gut, friends. It lies like a hairy egg.

Want to make your own opinion up about What Lies in the Multiverse? Easy peasy: the demo is available now on Steam.