Colorbound is a puzzle game that happens to involve platforming and a dash of critical thinking. Not good at jumping? That’s not the point. Determining the proper order of progression by logically looking at the colors of things around you and the hues added to your palette do. It’s a pleasant enough adventure with a comforting story, though sometimes I do wish the color palette felt a bit better defined.
Anku grew up with his grandparents and a love of music. After the kiddo’s grandpa Eloy dies, his grandma Thani mentions wanting to hear his zampoña pan-pipe again. When Anku goes to bring it and play for her, he finds a photo of his grandpa when he was young with his band. So, to pay tribute to him, he heads around the country to gather bandmates again to play together one last time in his honor.
The narrative is minimal, but Panpipe Studio does a lovely job of highlighting Chilean culture. From the cast’s clothing, Anku’s instrument, the color choices, and the locations, it feels very much like it is celebrating elements of the developer’s home. Likewise, the story itself is a celebration of music and both found and blood-related family. Seeing Anku going on a meaningful journey for his grandparents is quite touching.
Colorbound is the sort of game that builds on its mechanic, with each area adding a new element to things. When Anku “plays” the zampoña, we’re able to use the right analog stick to highlight certain environmental objects (or the kid himself) to apply paint after picking up the drops of color. By painting items or changing the color of the background, we can alter properties. So in the earliest levels, it’s about painting items and the background to make things “not exist” anymore so Anku can reach the flag in the stage to move forward. But eventually, you could make things float out of the way by turning them a certain shade of orange. Or something could sink because you made them blue.
The good news about this is if you are colorblind, you can still play Colorbound. Panpipe Studio took that into account in the options. The downside is the color palette choices can make it difficult to tell the difference. I get going for a certain aesthetic and appreciate the artistic direction and design choices, but a little more distinction would have been awesome and I think still preserved the design choices for different locations and ideas.
It also seems intended to be a low-stress platformer. Getting Anku through areas isn’t too difficult. There’s an undo button with no penalty for using it, as well as hints about which paint drops to use on what environmental elements. I found I really only needed to think when it came to the stages tied to alpacas. Those aren’t difficult to find, as there will be very obvious flower visual cues and sections that pretty obviously encourage you to explore. But those additional levels provide the added challenge of getting both Anku and the alpaca to the flag, factoring in the extra height of the animal and jumping ability.
Colorbound is a relaxing, low-pressure puzzle game that makes you consider the order of operations in stages to help a kid honor his family. It’s quite sweet and thoughtful! I do wish the color choices were a bit more distinctive, as it would help in some situations. Also, while there are a few challenging levels, I found it a little easy. But if you are looking for a low-key and pleasant adventure, it can be a fun few hours.
Colorbound is available on the Switch, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.
