Review: Burn The Rope

Posted by Ben on November 26th, 2012 | 0 Comments | Tags: Burn The Rope

While Sony’s mission statement for the Vita is one of console quality experiences on the go, titles like Burn The Rope present a compelling diversion from the Vita’s snack gaming side. While it won’t hold your attention for more than 30 minutes at a time, those 30 minutes will have you thoroughly enjoying yourself. Even if you do feel a little bit empty afterwards.

The game is ridiculously simple. You have a rope to burn, and it would appear that the usual rules of fire apply here. If the rope is at the wrong angle, then the rope won’t burn well and the flame will be snuffed out. So, you have to continuously rotate the rope in order to complete the level. The game mixes it up occasionally with bug burning bonus stages, and with new insects along with coloured flames. The game introduces new mechanics at a rate that ensures the player is never doing the exact same thing for too long, but all these mechanics feel like variations on a theme. Burn The Rope’s core concept is interesting enough, but that concept isn’t necessarily enough to make the gameplay stretch as far as it’s trying to.

Burn The Rope opens with a strange, slow-jam esque piece with a low voiced man singing about Burn The Rope. You can tell it doesn’t take itself seriously, and the game is filled with bright colors, relaxing tones and its generally easy on the eyes. The signposting for your flames, however, could be improved. There were times where I had no idea one of the flames was about to snuff out until it was too late. You can customize your flame, which can sometimes alleviate the problem, but a visual indicator on the side of the screen would have likely worked wonders. It isn’t a game breaking thing by any means, just an item that leads to momentary frustration. The rest of the game is very cleanly presented, and the medal indicator works well, showing you extremely clearly how far you are from your medal targets.

If this review of Burn The Rope appears short, then that’s unfortunately because there isn’t much to the actual game. The concept is great, the execution is extremely well done, and yet the game itself feels awkward. While the core idea is sound, Burn The Rope simply doesn’t do enough with it to justify itself. A novel distraction, but you won’t be left wanting more afterwards.

A copy of this game was provided by the publisher for review purposes. For more info on our review policy click here. This review is for the PlayStation Vita version of the game.