Framed Collection (Switch eShop) Review

When it first released on mobile in 2014, Framed got a lot of attention from the media and fellow game developers for being such an interesting idea. Now for the first time on a console, Framed Collection brings both games in the series to the Switch. So how does a heavily touchscreen-focused pair of games make the leap onto the console? Just fine actually.

Both Framed and Framed 2 play out nearly the same, the game is presented as a movable comic book and it’s your job to place them in the right order, fail that and you can either die or get arrested. The game’s story is presented without any names or dialogue, but the animation speaks for itself and you can follow what’s going on. The games sound effects and jazz soundtrack do a lot of the heavy lifting and give impact.

Your character has to escape from the police and moving the panels is how you do it. Early in the game, you’ll be sliding them around in the right order, eventually, it’ll get more complicated with rotating tiles and the direction the characters runs in them gets more and more mixed up. Once you’ve got the solution, press play and see if you got it right. Most of the pages you’ll breeze through but there are a few noodle scratchers along the way, some of them will take a while to complete but you’ll have a great sense of accomplishment afterward.

While the simple puzzles are just sliding around the order in which the protagonist runs, the more complicated ones change how the “comic” works and the order the character appears in. The characters can run down and up hallways and you’ll need to pay attention to colours on hallways to see which panel they’ll come “out” of. The Police in the game can be subdued if taken from above or behind and they are pretty blind and won’t look around too much.

The first game definitely feels like the most inventive game, but that could be just because you’re playing it first and by the second things are a little thin. The idea is great, but being a mobile game this isn’t something you would have normally played through in one sitting. The second game looks a little better as well, with more dynamic and detailed backgrounds and just a bit more polish. Each of the games is quite short, but if they were any longer it might have started to outstay its welcome.

Additions to the Switch version include a fast-forward button. Because you don’t actually control anyone, having to see yourself fail again and again without this button was frustrating on mobile. It’s a great addition. So how does a mobile touch-screen focused game work on a console? It’s not terrific, the touch-screen is the best way but it works.

Framed Collection is a welcome addition to the Switch eShop. If you’ve ever played them before there’s no real reason to play them again on the Switch as there are only minor changes. For those who haven’t, it’s terrific fun while it lasts but you’ll probably want to play it handheld. A terrific package.

Rating: 4/5