Thank you, Sekai Project, for giving us a copy of the game to review!

In Reverse x Reverse, you help guide two girls, Code (blue) and Rithm (red), shorthands for DBG-Code and ALG-Rithm, as they navigate through a series of levels set in the back-end code of a video game. Throughout your journey you must collect data, fix bugs, and avoid enemies all while navigating your way through the tricky layout of the levels to reach the exit points.

It starts on a normal day in which Code and Rithm are performing their duties testing game code while they casually talk with each other. Both of the girls have their own distinct personalities that are apparent from the beginning of the game. Rithm is a happy-go-lucky gal that is prone to spacing out, while Code has a more lively and headstrong persona. Midway during their conversation, Rithm switches into warning mode and lets Code know that another program has entered their world and is interfering with the code. Together, the two must venture into the internal system to discover who or what is tampering with the game. As progress is made, you being to learn more about the characters and the mysterious disturbance in the game world through voice acted dialogue sections at the beginning of each new world.

The game contains over 80 levels set in nine different worlds. Scattered throughout the levels are data that you can collect to boost your score and spend to unlock bonus levels. Each level is timed, but unless you are worried about your score, you won’t need to worry about it, as they give you plenty of time to complete the levels. Chances are you’ll end up dying before your time runs out anyways. A debug report is available if you’d like a more in-depth look at your level stats and see which levels you want to improve upon.

A key feature of the game is its unique movement mechanics. You can choose to control both of the girls at the same time or each of them separately. The two also have their own unique special ability that must regularly be used to navigate through the levels. Code’s ability is a forward dash. This allows her to cover great distances quickly and go between spikes placed directly above and below. Rithm’s ability allows her to double jump, helping her reach high places and grab floating objects.

Don’t let the cute look trick you into thinking this is a casual game. Reverse x Reverse is HARD. I found many of the levels to be extremely difficult, to the point of immense frustration. Figuring out the correct way to reach the end of the levels is fun, but the execution can be a real pain. I do enjoy difficult platformers, but replaying the same level to exhaustion because you can’t make a single jump can quickly get annoying. During my playthrough, I managed to beat the first four sections, 33 levels including the first bonus level, before finally admitting to my defeat. Even so, I racked up over 1,000 deaths.

Being that the setting is the back-end of a computer program, the graphics are fitting. Nothing particularly stands out apart from the character drawings in the dialogue scenes, which I particularly liked, but it does look clean. The characters are well voiced, adding to their personalities. The background music is also nice to listen to and adds a surprisingly calming element to the game.

The controls take a lot of getting used to, but once you do, they aren’t terrible. Rebinding the keys helped, but I still struggled moving the characters in the early stages. Partial controller support is available, but I stuck to using the keyboard.

There are few moral concerns to be found in Reverse x Reverse. The creatures I encountered could be killed by jumping on them, but nothing graphic is shown. None of the dialogue I read contained anything remotely suggestive, but I can only vouch for what I read. Most children should have no issues playing the game, other than managing its intense difficulty.

Overall, Reverse x Reverse is a fine puzzle platformer with interesting mechanics, pleasant voice acting and music, and challenging gameplay. While there are certainly more interesting titles out there that aren’t quite as difficult and that have better controls, I did have my fair share of enjoyment. As the wise Rithm once said, "Bug-searching is tough work," so be sure to take some breaks between play sessions to "relax with some nice sweets!"