Balan Wonderworld wants to be a charming adventure for two players, and it mostly succeeds at being a frustrating one instead. The game asks players to guide two children named Leo and Emma through twelve chapters built from real memories and fears, dressing them in dozens of costumes with their own abilities. That idea is clever. The execution isn’t.
Trailer, via Square Enix.
Twelve Worlds, One Costume Bank
Leo and Emma move through a sandbox world, finding statues and crystals to open new chapters. Each costume gives a new trick — hovering, hazard navigation, enemy fighting — and only three can be worn at once. The adaptive difficulty changes the number of enemies depending on how well a player performs. It sounds neat. It rarely feels it.
The core problem is repetition. Levels repeat the same drops, statues and paths again and again, and the difficulty curve doesn’t always match the skills a player has unlocked. Bosses tied to the people whose hearts created each world are the highlight of the game, brief respites from wandering through the same spaces.
Costumes, Keys and a Broken Promise
Collecting keys unlocks costumes, and some are placed in secret spots. That should feel rewarding. Instead, it often feels like busywork, especially when the game’s difficulty spikes without warning.
The split-screen co-op mode is a nice addition, letting two players share the screen. It’s the clearest sign the game knows what it’s doing well. The rest of the package feels unfinished.
Story, Music and What Happened
The story follows Leo and Emma as they enter the Balan Theater, a realm that appears when hearts lose balance. Each chapter belongs to a troubled adult or child, and bosses are the people whose hearts created the stage. Defeating them frees the person from Lance, the dark counterpart to Balan who commands the Negati.
The music comes from composers Ryo Yamazaki and Hironori Anazawa, with vocals from West End performers like Laura Pitt-Pulford. It’s a strong score. The story, written by novelist Soushi Kawasaki, is told without dialogue, which is a bold choice even if it doesn’t always land.
Where It Falls Short
Balan Wonderworld is the first project from Balan Company, a subsidiary of Square Enix led by Yuji Naka, co-creator of Sonic the Hedgehog and Nights into Dreams. He worked with artist Naoto Ohshima again after Sonic Adventure. The game’s theme is musical theater, and Naka studied the hero’s journey when drafting the story. None of that shows up in the final product.
The game launched worldwide on March 26, 2021 for Switch, PS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. It received generally negative reviews and underperformed commercially. Critics panned its gameplay and level design, though some praised the boss battles and soundtrack.
Key Facts
– Platforms: Switch, PS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
– Players: Two, single player or co-op
– Chapters: Twelve
– Costumes: 80 total, 3 per player at once
– Bosses: One per chapter
– Release: March 26, 2021
Schedule
| Chapter | Theme | Boss |
|———|——-|——|
| 1 | Opening world | First boss |
| 2–12 | Twelve troubled hearts | Twelve bosses |
Balan Wonderworld has a good idea and a solid soundtrack, but the pacing and level design let it down. It’s a game best enjoyed in short bursts with a friend rather than a marathon solo session.
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