Capsule Review: Entwined
A beautiful but thematically incoherent game where you steer a fish and a crane down a tunnel through targets. Hit enough targets and the animals merge into a dragon which you fly around outside the tunnel for a bit, collecting color which you then use to skywrite briefly before moving on to the next level. The levels have different gimmicks, some of which are better than others - a particularly frustrating level has the tunnel targets move unpredictably while you’re heading toward them. The game seems to want to say things about separation and togetherness, love and longing, but none of the mechanics support those themes all that well. It’s fun enough and pretty enough and has good enough music that it’s enjoyable as long as it lasts, but since it never really adds up to anything it ends up being forgettable.
I Stopped Playing When: I finished the story mode. I didn’t bother with challenge mode.
Three Stars: Good. I liked the game enough to finish it (or just play it a bunch, for games that don't end). I recommend it to most genre fans.