Ib

Ib is an unsettling, creepy, and incredible experience on Nintendo Switch. It has excellent music, great art, and an amazing narrative through its multiple endings. If you enjoy exploration, horror, and 2D adventure games, you need to play this.

Overall Ib proves that it is considered a classic among its peers for a reason, and for the most part it still holds up today. It may still have the issue many of this type of game have, being that anything and everything can hurt or kill you even if it’s not entirely obvious that it will do that, but this is not only not as prevalent as other games I have experienced and is also made less impactful by the fact that you are constantly finding save points as you go. Between the atmosphere, soundtrack, artwork, and characters, if you enjoy creepy experiences Ib is definitely something you should check out. This adventure through art that may or may not have it out for you managed to still find a way to scare and stress me out over ten years after its original release, and honestly I just find that impressive.

Ib Remake is a good entry in Nintendo Switch library: despite being short and not gameplay oriented, its narrative and setting make for a good experience in portable mode.

While Ib is not as fully fleshed out as many of the other pixel horror games, it’s certainly a strong entry in the genre. Its creepy atmosphere, well-timed and executed jump scares, and a delightfully unique setting make for an engaging, addicting game. There’s a decent amount of replayability as well, with a post-game bonus dungeon, multiple endings, and the True Guertena Exhibit, where you can examine every piece of art you discovered while playing the game. It’s not a perfect game by any stretch; it’s a little too short for my tastes, and it’s not very clear how to select answers to questions posed by the others trapped in the museum with you to get different endings, and I felt it was perhaps a little too easy. Still, Ib is a delight if you’re looking for a couple of hours to get your horror on.

It’s true that Ib lacks depth when exploring its themes and I did think that a longer campaign might afford it that opportunity. Perhaps this Switch remake will galvanize its popularity and create an opportunity for the developer to create a more expansive and ambitious iteration. However, as it stands I’d still recommend Ib to anyone interested in the concept, or to those looking for a short, but still meaningful game to decompress with.