Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams

Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams never ceases to impress. But it's not only pretty. Instead it's a very thoughtfully arranged, challenging platformer that six months after its initial release holds up just as well. This currently is, quite frankly, the jump and run of choice.

At $15, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is well worth its cost to platforming fans.

Black Forest Games revitalized its series by staying true to the game’s origins while still moving past its blatant clone gimmicks.

A pleasantly compelling game, with great art and that under the novelty of the dimension-shifting mechanics hides an old school platformer experience.

Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams on Xbox 360 is still a good nostalgic platform game that offers a nice challenge. Slightly longer loading times and the absence of the two free DLCs makes this version a bit less desirable, but still good for players that don't have a gaming PC.

Art and glitches aside, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is a surprisingly enjoyable platformer, and the developers have done a lot to breathe life and personality into a series that was never really allowed to live in the first place.

Fun and frustrating in equal measure, Twisted Dreams blends (rather than borrows) elements from Super Mario Bros., Sonic, and the essentials of many classic platformers that makes the experience feel fresh in an era when the genre has lost its bite.

Twisted Dreams combines satisfying gameplay with dazzling environments to create a worthy platformer.

With its wonderfully designed stages, the cool soundtrack, exciting boss fights and comfortable learning curve Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is a whole lot of fun - only we missed a co-op mode a little bit.

Even though the sisters show some technical shortcomings compared to the PC counterpart, this still is a charming jump & run.

Overall Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is a love letter to the 1980s cult classic. Sticking to its platforming roots, the game presents a classic difficulty with a new twist on the genre. While it may not be the best of its class by today’s standards, if you’re looking for a challenging platformer with a new visual twist, you may want to give this title a shot.

Very recommended for those looking for an old-school platformer, with classic gameplay and difficulty.

The joy of exploration occasionally tips over into frustration, as when untouchable background scenery seems to offer a safe place to land, or during an infuriating and unnecessarily time-consuming final boss fight. But for the most part, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is a charming adventure and a reasonable value.

Black Forest Games combines two beautiful worlds in one game. With an amazing concept and some challenging gameplay you would think it is ideal for platform lovers. The inaccurate controls and frustrating moment however get rid of that thought in no time.

For gamers looking for a hardcore challenge then this might be the game for you. For casual gamers, this might be a frustrating experience.

Even when Twisted Dreams is firing on all cylinders, levels inevitably devolve into a tedious hunt for gems. Some platformer fans may enjoy Twisted Dream's unabashed adherence to '80s game design, but even as a fan of old-school platformers, my enjoyment was hampered by some significant shortcomings.

This is a pretty, inventive platformer that demonstrates both a clear affection for the original and a willingness to try something new. It might not come close to unseating the genre's best, but if you're up for a challenge, then this is a minor gem.

They may not be directly related but Mario’s would-be siblings have some interesting ideas of their own, although they lack refinement to make the most of them.

A platformer that doesn't do anything new and never excels in any way. In the end it's ok, but not much more than that.

If you are a Giana Sisters fan from way back, then you will no doubt grab this one. For everyone else I recommend trying out the demo, to see if you will enjoy it. It's not terrible or broken by any means, it just not groundbreaking or memorable. It will be fun for some, but a headache for others.

After playing through some of the early levels, I started to enjoy myself, but when it really got down to the challenging bits, I was left wanting to hurl my 360 out the window. I think Giana Sisters as a whole is nice, with some really colorful and interesting visuals, but it just left me mad more than anything else.

The entire experience of Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams doesn’t come together in a cohesive whole often enough for it to be considered one of the great platformers, or even a really good one. Its frustrating lows, compounded by brutal difficulty spikes, don’t completely outweigh the occasional highs.