Millie & Molly | Nintendo Switch

Ported from the Commodore 64 version that came to light back in 2020, "Millie & Molly", a retro inspired game which was created by industry veteran Carleton Handley, makes it's way onto the Nintendo Switch in true to Switch fashion. This 'Thalamus Digital' and 'Below The Tower' published indie is a casual yet challenging interactive handheld experience brought to life with retro inspired pixel graphics. The game follows, without a backstory, two pigtailed protagonists with two different hair colors as they take on, in tandem or alone, puzzles involving monsters. These two devoted sisters, as you'll find out, are separated by 100 stages of monster filled madness, sometimes uniting for the cause ...

This simple yet complicated 2D puzzle platforming game that is divided by chapters, and further by numbered stages has both Millie and Molly fighting off monsters of varying sorts in an attempt to reunite at the end of it all. There's 100 stages in total spanning 5 chapters. Each chapter with 20 stages to unlock before the next chapter is made available. Past the initial tutorials brought to you by pop-up text inclusive panels in the early stages of chapter 1 you'll find that the game kicks into high gear with increasingly challenging puzzles centered around ladder climbing, the movement of objects, and the manhandling of monsters. Despite it's spike in difficulty at chapter 1 stage 20 there is an additional rewind/restart mechanic built in that allows the player to rewind actions taken, and correct any mistakes that were made. As hand holding as this key component might sound you'll find that you still have to figure out how to solve the puzzles, in the end, and that is honestly no walk in the park.

Swapping from Millie to Molly across the span of 100 stages is the key to reuniting these separated twins. Their abilities as the dynamic duo is limited to basic actions, minus jumping. These actions include the ability to climb ladders, move objects, and poof enemies into a cloud of dust by pushing into them from the side. There's also a point where the puzzles will have you swapping between the two siblings to work together to solve the puzzles. Where the challenge truly comes in though is in the layout of the stage. Where the monsters are, where platforming pieces are, where ladders are, and where interactable objects are all present a problem to be solved. Figuring out how to get to the side of each monster, and poof them is the key to solving each puzzle. 

Supposing you mess up at any time during a playthrough you have buttons onscreen that can be touched to rewind the actions you've taken. Either that or you can opt to press the right back shoulder button. This can be done all the way to the starting point where either Millie or Molly spawned in. You can also restart the stage quickly by pressing the left back shoulder button on your joycon controller. Rewinding, and restarting progress is of no consequence to completing the stages. There's no stars to collect for feats rendered, nor are there timed rewards. It's all about solving each, and every puzzle.

Controlling Millie and Molly can be done completely via touchscreen, with the joycons, or with a wired controller. It gives the player different ways to experience the game. Features outside of this are fairly limited. You've got some sound sliders in the OPTION menu as well as an 8-Bit or 16-Bit graphics option. The 8-Bit option being a nod to the game's origin hardware that is the Commodore 64. Both graphic designs look retro inspired, and feature pixel art that is lightly animated. It's cute, a bit childish, but pleasant on the eyes. The soundtrack is of the chiptune variety which also pays homage to the classic console this particular game hailed from.

The Verdict ...

Cute, and challenging is Thalamus Digital's and Below The Tower's "Millie & Molly". It's oddly deceiving with it's cutesy art design, and is definitely the type of 2D puzzle platformer that will have you thinking hard at times. Even with the rewind/restart feature available it's not a free pass to finish, and that's what I like about it. I was worried initially that it would be too easy, because of those features, but realizing that a player has to complete the increasingly difficult challenges which spike at stage 20 made me respect what the developer was doing. Rewinding, and restarting is simply a way to bypass loading screens, and maintain progress that was done correctly without out having to manually repeat everything you did. The puzzles themselves are genius in layout, and show an oldschool puzzle know how. It reminded me a lot of the Adventures of Lolo games, but it's not top down like them. All things considered I think who this game will appeal to most is fans of retro gaming. It's definitely retro by design, and will likely be more appreciated by retro gaming enthusiasts. Millie & Molly is a budget priced game, for those of you interested, and is well crafted to boot. I personally liked what it had to offer, and that's why I requested it for review. I thought it had promise, and it did not disappoint.