Thank you Dilemmastudio sending us this game to review!

Wenjia is a platformer where you have to traverse through two different dimensions to save some oppressed rabbit creatures who are being chased out of their forest home. You control a cat who can phase shift, ride the wind, and double jump, but cannot swim. Along with water, you’ll have to avoid lava, fire, and lots of spikes.

Jumping is a skill that you’ll have to master down to the millisecond as this game has little leeway for miscalculations. Some of the jumps are simple while others require phase shifting between them or consecutive jumps to clear various obstacles. As you’re moving through the levels, you’ll come across balls of energy that can be collected and used toward unlocking game extras and Steam achievements. Most of the time these energy balls are off the beaten path and are not easily accessible.

Be sure to change dimensions often as there are usually energy balls, bouncing platforms, or portals only visible in one view. Some portals and jumping platforms require you to phase shift before accessing the next one. It’s worth noting that there is a slight delay before you can phase shift again which makes traversing the obstacles all the more challenging. Thankfully, there are quite a few checkpoints scattered throughout the levels. However, there’s many more places where checkpoints would have been nice to reduce some of the frustration that this game provided.

There are Steam achievements for completing this title in less than an hour and with fewer than five deaths. I put in nearly four hours before throwing in the towel and I can only guess that I have died several hundred times or even over a thousand. The gentle shattering noise the cat makes upon its demise is quite fitting, by the way.

I really wanted to like this game as it has gorgeous visuals and exceptional background music. The soundtrack is not for sale on Steam yet and I’m kicking myself for missing the giveaway contest for it. When it does become available, I’ll consider picking it up though.

The art style is very pretty with each of the dimensions having a different color palette. The material world is vibrant and full of life while the energy realm has a more pale and dreary atmosphere. Both dimensions are pretty in their own way.

If you like speedrunning games or challenging platformers, Wenjia is worth looking into. Some of the levels have you racing against the clock while others let you take your time to complete it. When completing a level, you are given a letter score based on your time and by how many energy balls you have collected along the way. Since it can be completed in less than an hour, and some may find it frustrating, I recommend holding out for a sale before picking it up if you’re a casual gamer.