As I'm making my way through the beginning of two-player co-op adventure Age Twisters alongside the founders of developer Piccolo Studios, I'm told the goal was to create a game that evokes the same feelings as watching a Pixar movie with your child. Now I am admittedly sprogless, but it wasn't difficult to latch onto those similar fuzzy feelings of nostalgia and familial love even as I completed puzzles alongside a man I'd only met minutes prior.
Age Twisters is the studio's attempt at a game like It Takes Two or Split Fiction, albeit much lower on the toughness scale—something which the developer itself admits, instead going for a game that's constantly evolving and different rather than outright difficult. It takes a granddaughter-grandfather duo and slaps a couple of age-bending bracelets on them, allowing each one to age up or down all the way from a young child to a hobbling old bean.
It's a wonderfully novel mechanic—each age has its own portrait, voice acting, and dynamic dialogue that'll shift as you age up or down across the story. Each even comes with their own quirks. I attempted to jump over a gap as an old lady but was unable to, and similarly found myself stuck when trying to jump up and grab onto a ledge as a tiny tyke.
That stuff's mostly flavour, but each age does come with unique abilities that are used during puzzles. Kids can swap back and forth with each other and random objects, useful for traversing large gaps or teleporting through danger. Youths are given the full rowdy power of rock instruments, being able to blast out on drums or guitar to slow down incoming projectiles or enemies. Adults can put their strength into punches to clear paths, while elders have large magnets that can be used to push or pull objects.
I only got to toy around with the first two powers while playing the demo at Gamescom. And while the puzzles were mostly simple in nature, getting to zap around ages at will and coordinate was still lovely and charming. While most of the puzzles we completed required both of us to be the same age, I'm told that later puzzles will require each person using different ages and their respective powers to complete.
Piccolo Studios says it played into stereotypes of each generation somewhat when creating these abilities, all in the name of humour of course. While the story is ultimately one of loss—it's all about figuring out what happened to the granddaughter's mother—it's one about trying to bridge the gap between generations. As the developer puts it to me, it's about remembering being young while understanding what it means to get older.
It all sounds well and good, and while I wasn't completely sold on the story, dialogue, or characters in my brief time with the demo, I think the puzzles and being able to shoot the shit alongside a loved one for a few hours will do plenty of the heavy lifting in Age Twisters. Its approachability feels like a great one for families to try together, though I'd imagine I'll also have a lovely time journeying through the game alongside my partner or a good pal.
Age Twisters is set to release on Steam in 2027.
