As many indie games as I’ve played over the last generation, and specifically as many platforming action titles as I’ve spent time with, I was starting to have a hard time imagining a style of play I hadn’t seen yet. Whether it was classic 2D side-scrolling, puzzle platformers, 3D collect-a-thons, platform shooters, precision platformers, and many more, it felt like I’d seen just about everything. While Windswept may not be that far a departure from some of those descriptions though, it has a refreshing quality that’s quite satisfying, especially since I can say that it absolutely feels unique in its own right.

The main thing to know is that this is sort of a buddy platformer, with you controlling the pretty unique pairing of Marbles and Checkers, who happen to be a duck and a turtle. They do indeed make for an odd platforming couple, but then once you get to know all of the ways you’ll be able to work with the two of them in different ways, the game really begins to click. Oddly enough, while the normal levels themselves are varied, well-designed, and interesting in their own way, what really got me grooving here were all of the hidden stages that feel like they’re almost everywhere you look. In the tradition of great classic level design, you can pretty well assume if there’s any feature that you see that looks remotely suspicious around you that you should check it out. Where the challenge kicks in, is then sometimes figuring out how to get there.

That’s where the game’s control scheme enters the chat, and I’ll give a fair warning that at first it can feel like a lot. Simply put, this game is chock full of technique for you to exploit, but in order to have it all made available to you you’ll need to spend some time getting your feet wet. The first level is a bit of an ordeal, with it feeling like every few steps you’ll be asked to try out and at least marginally master a load of different moves that you’ll need in your adventure. Need to get somewhere higher up? There’s a way to do that. Need to knock something out that’s further away? The developers have you covered. This takes some time and practice, partially knowing whether to be controlling the duck or turtle, then whether one should be riding the other or not, and then having the controller dexterity to make the most of what those moves will offer you. The thing is, once you’ve got your arms around the controls the rest falls into place pretty wonderfully. 

Hidden areas range from timed events where you’ll need to show your techniques to classic platforming challenges and more, consistently changing things up and never feeling particularly stale. The great thing is that they tend to be pretty bite-sized on the whole as well, and with quick turn-arounds if you die you can get right back into the action and try again. In pretty much every area it feels like the developers have invested their best efforts in making the game as responsive and quick as possible, respecting your time and more often wanting to give you opportunities to celebrate rather than be discouraged. You’ll need to work to grab everything there is in each level, but the majority of the time pretty well every challenge feels like it can be worked through. It may not always be perfect, but on the whole this is an excellent platformer worthy of your attention if you’re willing to get through the learning curve, and then reap the rewards for doing so.