Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams (PlayStation 3) Review

This game is a 2D platformer in which Giana is trying to rescue her abducted sister called Maria. Giana has the ability to manipulate dreams and make use of a "Cute" and "Punk" persona to help her travel through the dreams. Each persona has its own special ability. Punk Giana has a quick, aggressive dash which can be used to attack enemies, move much quicker and bounce off walls to reach new areas. Cute Giana has the ability to slowly glide and twirl through the air to avoid danger, make precise jumps and travel great distances.

Switching between these two forms can be done with the press of a button at any time, but that's not all there is to this mechanic, as the levels actually change, too, turning from a bright and colourful fantasy world into a dark, grim nightmare. The attention to detail in this feature is astounding and the changes occur very quickly and smoothly, making it a joy to use. To go along with the environmental change, the music flows seamlessly between the original arrangements and the heavy metal renditions by the Swedish band Machinae Supremacy. There is, however, an option to only play one music style for those who are bothered by the regular music changes.

An interesting concept wouldn't be anything without a solid foundation to back it up and Giana Sisters delivers on that with extremely tight and responsive controls. While the game starts off fairly easy, it slowly becomes harder and harder. Thankfully, plenty of checkpoints throughout each level ensure that the frustration is kept to a minimum, allowing for some really challenging and tricky segments. The levels are littered with different coloured crystals to collect. Blue crystals can be collected by any persona, while red ones are only for Punk Giana and yellow ones are only for Cute Giana. A maximum of five stars are awarded at the end of each stage based on the number of collected crystals and deaths. The boss levels actually require an average of three stars in each world to be unlocked, so it's essential to perform well in all the levels. Much like the stages, the bosses are all very challenging, as well.

There are only three worlds but the levels are quite long, ranging from 10 to 25 minutes each. New, smaller gameplay mechanics are introduced regularly to keep players engaged, with some levels focusing on specific ones. The last part of the game really tests whether the player has truly mastered every single mechanic and it's a blast to overcome all the challenges before eventually reaching the fierce final boss. There is also a Time and Score Attack mode, but for the really brave (and slightly insane) souls out there, the game offers unlockable Hardcore and Über Hardcore modes. While Hardcore gets rid of all checkpoints, Über Hardcore sends the player all the way back to the start of the game after just a single death.