I’ve been wanting to get my hands on upcoming PS3 exclusive Papo & Yo ever since hearing how it draws on the bittersweet childhood of designer Vander Caballero. A playable build at GDC gave me my wish and the video above shows the first few minutes of the game from Montreal-based developer Minority.
There’s a lot to love about Papo & Yo, even at this early stage. Magical realism and a sense of innocence wafts in from the very beginning, with a reality-bending game of hide-and-seek. A hint system that can only be called adorable, puzzles where houses grow legs and scramble around and sweet Brazilian-inflected guitar music. Even though it’s taking place in an environment that visually draws on third-world poverty, there’s no sadness. There’s a sense of magical realism in Papo & Yo that seems to cherish the way that imagination turns the world into a playground.
I didn’t reach the sections of the game where Papo & Yo‘s tituar partnership is formed — where main character Quico meets Monster — but I’ve still played enough to get me very excited about the upcoming PlayStation Network title, which should be hitting PS3s later this year.
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