"Pode" Review

Built from the ground up as a co-op puzzle game meant to get two players -- each using a Joy-Con -- solving problems together.

Traveling through a whimsical yet foreboding 3-D world, you and a friend take control of characters with complementary abilities to solve the tasks at hand. Coordination is key to endure. Timed jumps, cooperative boosts and strategic placement help you make your way through the clockwork-like challenges.

While also playable solo -- a tricky task that involves alternating possession and rhythms for button taps -- the game reaches its greatest potential when played by a duo. The bickering and shared sense of triumph when you work together to overcome adversity yields rewards you just can't touch when playing on your own.

One of 12 Nindies that Nintendo has lined up in a partnership with innovative indie developers this year, "Pode" taps the quirky system in a heretofore underserved application. Now that the system has been out for more than a year, with Nintendo swinging the doors open for those with innovative ideas, "Pode" seems like a sign of not only how far the system has come in its first several months, but how bubbly the upcoming potential seems to be.
Publisher provided review code.