Tiny and Big: Grandpa's Leftovers Demo

A realistic physics engine can make one hell of a difference under the right circumstances, especially if it contributes to the general gameplay mechanics. As an example, Half-Life 2 blew everyone’s minds with the Havok engine, not only because it looked and felt so real, but because you had so many chances to actually use it practically during the missions.

Tiny and Big: Grandpa's Leftovers is a puzzle game designed to provide you with the freedom to do as you please when it comes to interacting with the environment, which is definitely not a first in the industry. However, the game at hand does it in a unique and funny way, which makes the experience worth it and the mechanics are actually very intuitive and practical.

To begin with, the story is not your usual convoluted mess of characters and events, which is nice. Instead, you play the role of Tiny, an inventor who’s on a quest to find his grandpa’s underpants. His greatest enemy, Big, tries to stop him at all costs and basically makes your journey as difficult as possible, using traps and various other cheap tricks that put you to work.

The actual physics engine is what makes the gameplay fun, on the other hand. As such, Tiny has a laser that can be used to cut almost everything in the game, starting with small rocks, all the way to giant boulders. Not only that, but you can cut them from any direction and into as many pieces as you want. After that, it is also possible to push or pull them around, which comes in handy when you need to improvise ledges and ladders.

Visually, the game is very artsy and colorful, but don’t expect anything out of the ordinary from a technical point of view. Thankfully, the environments look amazing and the designers did a good job at portraying a fantastic world, which can keep you playing even if the missions get rather repetitive after one point. Not only that, but you can find actual indie music tapes and listen to them, which is a marvelous way to promote unknown talent.

In the end, Tiny and Big: Grandpa's Leftovers is not GOTY material, but it certainly has what it needs to win a place in everyone’s heart and memory. As such, if you are on the lookout for something unique and funny, this may very well be the answer to your prayers.