It’s a Wrap! from Chanko Studio and AMC Games is an interesting 2D puzzle platformer set in 1980s Hollywood. Learn more in our It’s a Wrap! review!

 

It’s a Wrap! from Chanko Studio and AMC Games is an interesting 2D puzzle platformer set in 1980s Hollywood. You’ll be taking on the role of Johnny Rush. He’s someone who wants to act in a low-budget popcorn flick to prove that he’s got what it takes to succeed in the business. Johnny will – no pun intended – need to rush to the film set to get things going so that you can learn all the basics. Will he manage to complete his performance? Or will he end up feeling overwhelmed by the whole process?

You’ll control your character with the left analog stick as you jump through each area with the B button. Johnny can also wall jump to progress through some areas and can slide down a wall by pressing up against it. While running and jumping are all fine and well, this is a 2D puzzle platforming experience, which means there needs to be some puzzle elements to consider, right?

 

This is why the game is split into two main modes: Directing and Action. When directing, you need to make sure that all the people and elements involved in each production stick to the script and hit their cues so that when it’s time to call “Action!” it all makes sense. You can open and close the script by pressing the X button so that you can check what needs to be sorted out. There’s a general timeline at the bottom of the screen and different rows for the elements that must come together to form a scene.

Once you press the Y button, you’ll exit Directing Mode and dive straight into Action Mode. You’ll learn about how you can fix things as you film the first movie, Ace Avanti and the Very Last Curse. Yes, this is a play on the beloved Indiana Jones franchise, and there will be other nods here and there as you film this and the other movies in It’s a Wrap! During the first scene in Ace Avanti and the Very Last Curse, Johnny tries to run over the drawbridge before it collapses… except it ends up breaking down too early in the sequence.

 

You’ll need to press and hold down the R button as you scroll through the timeline so that you can see a preview of how things will unfold so that you can make adjustments accordingly. To make said adjustments, you’ll need to use the left analog stick to move a cursor on the screen so that you can use it to select an event and drag it around by selecting it while pressing and holding down the A button. That aforementioned “bridge is falling down!” sequence? Move it a bit to the right of the timeline, and Johnny will be able to cross before it collapses!

Take, for example, one of the scripts from early in the game during the filming of Ace Avanti and the Very Last Curse. The script to be filmed is as follows:

EXT. HIMALAYA – MOUNTAIN TOP – DAY

A snowstorm lets loose its wrath upon our heroes, and a deadly avalanche barrels toward them. Bula, too afraid to continue, sends Ace off alone into the unknown.

ACE
The relic must be on the other side.

BULA
(shaking his head)
Too dangerous!

ACE
(seemingly unimpressed)
I’ve had worse. Now, push!

Without hesitation, Ace jumps across the cliff and continues on his way to the top.

From that script, you can easily understand how Ace (that would be Johnny’s character) needs to get from point A to point B in one piece so that he can continue to search for the relic. On the scene, there are two elements for which you’ll need to consider the timing: a boat and the aforementioned avalanche that is ready to fall on top of our hero. Ace needs to get on top of the boat so that Bula can push the boat over the cliff, timing everything just right so that Ace can jump from the boat after the giant snowball from the avalanche has barely missed hitting Ace.

 

It’s all fun and games until the game starts to mix things up and introduces new elements. Keeping the one bridge from collapsing during a single scene? Sure! Timing a boat going down a hill so that our hero can barely make the jump needed to go over a cliff? Piece of cake! Having to help Ace cross a pool of lava with two pillars that are being eaten up by the lava while you can’t change the pacing for falling rocks and a giant boulder since those elements are locked? That’s when things really start to get interesting!

It’s a Wrap! is a fun and clever hand-drawn 2D puzzle platformer in which you must manipulate the elements in each scene so that Johnny can have a chance to become the B-movie star he’s destined to be. As you move a cursor around the screen and switch up the order of this or that element for a scene, you’ll need to help Johnny get the job done in style. The game can also be played by using the console’s touchscreen when in Portable or Tabletop Mode or if you’re playing on a Nintendo Switch Lite console. It’s a Wrap! is available on Nintendo Switch with a $14.99 price tag.

Disclaimer
This It’s a Wrap! review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by AMC Games.