While there are quite a number of puzzle platformers on the Switch, developers have still found ways to include additional elements to help differentiate themselves on the eShop. Two such features have been the ability to shift between two different characters who each have their own unique skills, and the ability to shift gravity which typically comes at the cost of being able to jump. In the case of Wira & Taksa the developers have actually done both, in theory providing for even greater challenges and variety. Unfortunately, the end product doesn’t quite come together well enough to fully capitalize on that combined formula.

In the game you’ll play as this oddball pair, with the smaller Taksa being your best bet for moving quickly to avoid traps and the bulkier Wira working as your go-to when dealing with enemies. You’ll find switching between them quite often, and sometimes quickly, having to transition from evasion to a little combat. In addition, you’ll have to make frequent use of your ability to invert gravity, working in sections as your replacement for jumping and requiring some nimble fingers to get yourself into the proper position to land without hitting anything. Complications like orbs that will shift you 90 degrees help to keep things a bit more interesting, as then you’ll instead be walking around on the walls just to keep your brain constantly challenged to keep up.

Where I ran into issues is in the controls and execution. In my mind the button scheme for the characters and switching back and forth simply aren’t what I’d consider the “intuitively normal” buttons that you’d assume would be used. While in general I was able to compensate and keep the right ones in mind, I did find that when things got to be tense my brain wouldn’t always make that translation, making for some unnecessary frustration. Another annoyance was the tendency to have spaces being quite vertical, either forcing you to deliberately look up to see where everything you want to avoid or land on are at. Just in general I found myself needing to do this too often, rather than being able to trust the sensible flow of the stage. When there are games like VVVVVV and some others that do gravity inversion with more precision and less ambiguity, that stands out for me as an area that came up short.

At the end of the day, I wouldn’t say that the game’s issues cripple it so much as they just wound it, making the experience a bit less than it could have been with a bit more care in design and execution. Rather than feeling like a well-polished experience, it feels like it could have used a few more iterations and tuning to get some of the controls and stage design issues better sorted out to improve its appeal. That said, if you want a consistent challenge and can deal with a few shortcomings it’s still worthwhile.