In the center of Balan Wonderworld's hub area lies the construction site of a clock tower. Complete the 12 worlds--the entry points to which are arranged at random around the tower like dial markings on a jumbled clock face--and the clock tower rises further into the sky; an elaborate contraption that stands as a monument to your hours played. Despite a thematic preoccupation with telling the time, Balan Wonderworld feels like something of an anachronism, a throwback 3D platformer whose occasional charms arrive too late.

Balan Wonderworld makes a terrible first impression. It's a 3D platformer where the primary act of running around the levels feels sloppy. Swapping character costumes to employ new abilities is the key novelty, but the initial batch of costumes fail to inspire, and instead add the sorts of abilities you'd take for granted in any other platformer. Completing the early game doldrums, you're dropped into levels without context nor any attempt to explain your goals.

The clumsy controls and character movement are the most persistent problem. There's a weird dissonance in the way it feels like you're moving too slowly while the choppiness of the simplistic animation gives the illusion of moving too quickly. Your character will float slightly above the ground even when standing on a flat surface. Jumping and judging distance feels sloppy and imprecise, mostly thanks to a stickiness of movement but also because, from time to time, the useful ground shadows cast by yourself and other objects will simply disappear. To put it kindly, mistiming or failing to land a jump doesn't always feel like it's your own fault.

In the center of Balan Wonderworld's hub area lies the construction site of a clock tower. Complete the 12 worlds--the entry points to which are arranged at random around the tower like dial markings on a jumbled clock face--and the clock tower rises further into the sky; an elaborate contraption that stands as a monument to your hours played. Despite a thematic preoccupation with telling the time, Balan Wonderworld feels like something of an anachronism, a throwback 3D platformer whose occasional charms arrive too late.

Balan Wonderworld makes a terrible first impression. It's a 3D platformer where the primary act of running around the levels feels sloppy. Swapping character costumes to employ new abilities is the key novelty, but the initial batch of costumes fail to inspire, and instead add the sorts of abilities you'd take for granted in any other platformer. Completing the early game doldrums, you're dropped into levels without context nor any attempt to explain your goals.

The clumsy controls and character movement are the most persistent problem. There's a weird dissonance in the way it feels like you're moving too slowly while the choppiness of the simplistic animation gives the illusion of moving too quickly. Your character will float slightly above the ground even when standing on a flat surface. Jumping and judging distance feels sloppy and imprecise, mostly thanks to a stickiness of movement but also because, from time to time, the useful ground shadows cast by yourself and other objects will simply disappear. To put it kindly, mistiming or failing to land a jump doesn't always feel like it's your own fault.