There are plenty of games out there that deal with absolutes. You know, the ones that dive into light versus dark…good verses evil…black and white. However, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one taken quite as literally as Happy Dude. Now, I’m not much of a fan of platformers. I haven’t been for quite some time. However, its unique take on the genre has piqued my interest and I’m very much into what they’re trying to accomplish here.
In Happy Dude apparently some nasty wizard dude decides to drain all the color out of the land and it’s up to our titular hero to bring back the rainbow. You’re literally playing in a world of black and white. While monochrome games have been around since the dawn of time it’s the unique angles that make this game worth checking out. For starters, you’re a block dude that, with a little persuasion from blue floating orbs, can change your shade from pure white to pure black and back again. I’ve seen interesting gimmicks used in various platformers but this is a first for me.
Here’s the thing. You can only affect the environment in certain ways. For example, if you’re black you’re prevented from moving through black objects but can easily get through white obstacles. The same holds true for if you’re white. And it’s not just being able to get from point A to point B by changing your color but other things are limited based on what you are. Happy Dude may look simple on the surface but based on what I’ve seen the deeper you go the more complex things get. Which is why I want to keep an eye on this one.
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