Entwined
Review

Entwined (2014) is a rhythm-action game where you play a bird and a fish dancing to the music on a quest to unite their souls. Unusually, you control each character with a different joystick on the gamepad and must move them around the screen simultaneously to collect energy and avoid hazards. It's a tricky concept to master and creates a unique, skill-based challenge to overcome.

You play the souls of a bird and a fish, two beings in love yet eternally separated. Directing their movement with only a stick, they automatically move forward as you aim to collect energy to bring their souls together and transform them into a majestic dragon.

As you progress you learn to direct the fish to collect the orange energy and the bird to collect the blue. The more you miss, the further the two souls move apart. The level is complete when the souls converge and become the dragon until the start of the next stage. It can seem like an impossible ask, but with practice and persistence, you improve and make it through the stages.

The result is a game that offers a unique ambidextrous-like challenge with its unusual controls that demands you balance your focus between both characters simultaneously. The esoteric visuals and music combine with this flowing play to create a rewarding and uplifting challenge.

Our examiner, Ben Kendall, first checked Entwined 10 months ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 5 months ago.