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“Tiny Hands Adventure” is a new game from the up-and-coming Polish game developer Funware. The game plays as a cross between “Spyro: The Dragon”, “Crash Bandicoot” and “Armado”, it’s a fixed-path 3D adventure platforming game featuring a dinosaur with small hands (Borti).

tiny hands adventure the keyboard controls

The keyboard controls are listed. However, the controls are not for joy-pad users…

Wanting to do well at football, the said dinosaur (Borti) wants bigger hands and sets out on series of quests given by a fairy so that she has enough materials to construct a device that will solve his problem. The initial title screen is quite cute, with the players dinosaur (called Borti) lazing in a hammock.

The options available are pretty standard, and whilst it does list keyboard controls, there is no information about joy-pad use – you have to work out the controls yourself. There are also no options to redefine the keyboard – although the keys listed aren’t the only ones you can use.

Say hello Borti, the young and cheerful T-rex and main character of “Tiny hands adventure”.

The gameplay itself is good – Borti (the dinosaur) is charmingly, well drawn and animated (you can certainly see that he has small hands), whilst the enemies are okay – a bit basic in both design and animation, but they do the job.

The initial level is a short tutorial that takes you through controlling the character.

Your character’s movement is fine – you move fairly swiftly, and it’s quite responsive and smooth. Fighting is simplistic though, you just use your tail to hit your enemy. There is no real feedback when you hit them either – they just silently disappear in a flash of light. Various hints appear during this level detailing how to move, slide and jump, although it only ever mentions keyboard controls.

The fairy and the main level hub à la Crash Bandicoot.

The status display at the top shows how much meat Borti has collected (he’s obviously a carnivore), the number of lives and how many crystals you’ve collected. The first level is where you start to notice how similar it is to “Crash Bandicoot” – the camera is always at a fixed height and will follow you in a set path.

Whilst it isn’t too bad, it can cause problems both with positioning yourself and attacking the enemy, as height and distance can’t always be judged accurately. However, there are weapons to be collected that upgrade your attacks. Over the course of a level, the camera can change to suit the current section you are currently in.

This level starts as a side-ways platformer, but then changes to behind the player. So judging the position of enemies isn’t always easy.

Once a level is complete, you return to the level hub. This is where you can choose from an array of stages, which can include frogs, alien cats and crabs, and each of which has a different camera layout (one level even has a resemblance to the Commodore 64 game “Nebulus”). As for boss fights, well, they are alright, and once a boss has been defeated. You will move onto the next set of stages.

Tiny hands adventure’s graphics are nice, bright and colorful, and the game’s movement is very smooth as well.

So, what about in-game challenges then? Well, the game should offer a challenge once you get used to the different camera angles. Losing all your lives just takes you back to the main hub, where you can retry the same level again or start a different one.

tiny hands adventure bright and beautiful

For some odd reason the game’s English is rather weird. Furthermore, the music is looped, and there’s limited sound effects as well…I also find it to be somewhat strange that the enemy animation is a bit basic and there’s no feedback for hits either.

The game’s music is okay. I mean, each level has one looped tune, but the sound effects are sparse. It’s certainly a pleasant first entry for the developers, as it’s fun, with many levels and good replayability, although it’s price may be problematic, especially as some bits look rough. All in all, though, “Tiny hands adventure” is a fun 3D platformer that suffers from a few rough edges.

So if you don’t mind the cons that I have listed for “Tiny hands adventure”, then you might want to check the game out if you’re into 3D platformers.

Pros:
+ Graphics are nice, being bright and colorful, although not overly detailed.
+ Movement is smooth
+ You will want to continue playing if you lose all your lives
+ Level design varies quite a bit, and it can be challenging
+ Some of the enemies look good

Cons:
– No in-game control details about joy-pads
– Enemy animation is a bit basic and no feedback for hits
– Limited sound effects
– Music is looped
– The in-game status display could do with looking a bit more professional
– Some of the English used is a bit weird
– Limited exploration scope
– The price could be regarded as a bit too high

Gameplay: 4/5
Graphics: 3/5
Sound and music: 3/5
Controls: 3/5
Replay value: 4/5
Story: 3/5

tgg grade 3 out of 5

Verdict: 3/5
Tiny hands adventure is a fun and entertaining 3D platformer for all ages. Sure, there are a few rough edges to be found here and there in the game. Nevertheless, Tiny hands adventure is charming enough to be enjoyable by all though, but it doesn’t do – or be enough – to really stand out, as it plays everything too safely.

Title: Tiny Hands Adventure
Developer: Funware
Format: PC
Genre: Action/3D Platformer
Resolution: User defined
Release date: 2018-08-10
Difficulty: Moderate
Spent time: +3 hours
Average grade internationally: N/A
PEGI age rating: +7
Price: 14.62 Euros on Steam