Degrees of Separation is a fun side-scrolling puzzle platformer with no combat to worry about. Learn more in our Degrees of Separation review!

 

Degrees of Separation is a single-player/co-op puzzle platformer in which you play as Ember and Rime. If you’re playing on your own, then you can quickly and easily swap between the characters with the press of a button. Ember represents heat, and her dimension is very summery, warm, and beautiful. Rime represents the cold, so his dimension is full of snow, and ice, while also being very pretty. As you can probably guess by now, puzzles will take into consideration these heat and cold elements. You will first be introduced to Ember and Rime and play as each on their own as you learn more about their abilities. Around 15-20 minutes into the game, the two will meet, and the screen will split between Ember and Rime, and this is when the fun begins!

 

Ember and Rime must work together using their element abilities. For example, Rime can create balls of ice/snow to reach higher ledges – as Rime moves around his half of the screen the backgrounds turn to ice, and the attention to detail is great as you can even see him breathing into the cold air! Ember, on the other hand, can easily melt ice and snow, so they certainly complement each other. Something I thought was a nice touch is the fact that if you ever get stumped in a puzzle, you can skip it and move on to the next one instead, which was really cool as it enables players to carry on with the flow and not feel overly frustrated.

 

Despite been in different dimensions Rime and Ember can call the other using the R button, but in order for the calling mechanic to work, Ember and Rime must be very close together. If this is the case, once you press the R button, the other character will follow you. This helps when you’re playing the game on your own so that you don’t end up constantly changing between the pair to move them closer and closer to the next puzzle, which is certainly appreciated.

What is a puzzle platformer without any collectibles? Degrees of Separation has several for you to collect as you take on this mild Metroidvania release. You may need to freeze a pond to reach it, or bend a tree in a certain way, or swim to it, but as long as you find a way to solve a puzzle, you’ll be rewarded for your efforts. Since there is no game over and no combat to worry about, there are no risks when taking your time to find the right solution for a puzzle – you can play the game at your own pace!

 

Degrees of Separation is a great looking and very fun game on PlayStation 4 that is easy for me to recommend. The puzzle variety is solid, and the game’s look and feel is a very charming combo – you can tell the team went to a lot of trouble to give this one a lovable look. Being able to skip the puzzles if you’re feeling overwhelmed is a good option since that way players of all skill levels will be able to enjoy this one. Go get Degrees of Separation on PlayStation 4!

Disclaimer
This Degrees of Separation review is based on a PlayStation 4 copy provided by Modus Games.