Shu is pretty darn adorable, fuzzy-wuzzy and spreading seeds all about. You get to play as a furry yo-yo bouncing between planets in a sort of 2D Super Mario Galaxy way - except no stars or mustaches. While some say the game is a chill experience, I personally felt it leans toward something a very young child would enjoy with a parent. There are no goals or levels to finish, instead you just explore, eat, plant seeds, and bounce about. I happen to have a 7 year old daughter, so we gave it a nice long gameplay due to the all ages rating.
Firing up the game you have some options to jump from one character to the next. A few other of Shu's cousins, a turtle, a giraffe with very stiff joints, and a bee. Of those the easiest to move around is the bee, but it's not very interactive compared to the rest. The turtle and giraffe controls were stiff in our opinion. We generally enjoyed playing as the Shu family and would eat plants, jump from planet to planet, and sow seeds repeatedly.
My daughter was surprised there were no levels or goals. She was actually a bit confused when I explained it to her. She bounced and ate trees for a half hour or so, but when I turned on my controller to play co-op with her the game took on a new dimension. It was immediately clear to her that now we could play hide and seek! That went on for an hour as I would jump to the farthest planet and she had to figure out where in the galaxy I went. With the vegetation looking a bit similar, it's wasn't obvious where I would land. A few times she got upset and I switched her to the bee so she could find me easier. The best moments were when we collided into each other while bouncing around. That was a little girl giggle-fest. :-)
With the brightly colored art direction, well done controller ( xbox ) handling, and charm I'd say this is a good title to get if you are either a parent looking for a fun game experience with your child, or someone who enjoys non-objective gaming. If you don't like games without goals or levels, I'd steer clear away. It's just not a game with goals in mind. As for age range, I think somewhere around 6 or under is probably going to hold their interest the longest. Have fun playing hide and seek if you can.
Disclosure: a review key was provided by the developer
