Bread & Fred

I really enjoyed my time with Bred and Fred, but the single player mode really makes it a more frustrating experience than it needs to be. This is a title that I can highly recommend if you have someone who wouldn’t mind sitting down and putting a couple of hours into it with you. Otherwise, I highly recommend that you prepare yourself for a frustrating time as you throw a rock around in efforts to achieve the same results as someone else who has a competent partner with them.

Bread & Fred is a unique platformer with moments of brilliance and frustration in equal measure. It looks lovely and has a great approach to co-op gaming, along with the inclusion of Jeff in single-player mode. It’s hard, so grab a patient partner if you want to enjoy this one.

As with many co-op platfomers of this type the controls need to be spot on to avoid being frustrating, and sadly Bread and Fred doesn’t quite nail this aspect. Too often we found ourselves struggling to get out of an area because of slightly finickity physics or overcomplicated controls, and it didn’t feel as if the blame lay at our door. If you stick with it things do improve though, with the slightly fudged controls being workable and the game offering some interesting level design and ideas.

Bread & Fred is so brutally tough that I can only recommend it to co-op chums who relish mastering ridiculous challenges together.

Bread & Fred is a novel concept that fails to deliver due to its frustrating climbing mechanics. The idea of climbing a large mountain and working with a partner to do so is appealing; however, the inconsistent physics and anger-inducing design that allows you to lose progress in an instant hinder the game. Although SandCastles Studio adds an array of assist options to address these concerns, at its core, the game struggles to balance challenge with enjoyment. The fundamental design flaws overshadow the creative premise, resulting in an experience that is more exasperating than entertaining.