Ib Review: Paint No Mountain High Enough

Pixel horror. So underrated, so delightful. I really feel like there’s just not enough of it in the gaming world, so I’ll admit to getting a little… squeal-y when something comes along. So I was more than a little excited to give Kouri’s Ib a try. I mean, a creepy little girl with creepy, blood-colored eyes, trapped in a creepy, haunted art exhibit? Yes, please.

A Hue to Kill

Ib follows the titular character, the aforementioned strange little girl with unnaturally red eyes. The story begins with Ib tagging along with her parents to an art exhibit for the strange, eccentric artist Guertena. With her parents dazzled by what appears to be a painting of a parental figure wagging her finger at a child, Ib wanders off on her own to explore more of the exhibit. There are some delightfully creepy art pieces for you to look at, like the horrifying angler fish on the floor (though to be fair, that could be my severe thalassophobia talking), the headless mannequins, and the “Blue Lady,” to name just a few. Whilst exploring, Ib finds herself suddenly alone in the art museum, locked in, and with odd sounds echoing about. With no way out, she’s forced to take the plunge, quite literally, into the terrifying art surrounding her. It’s up to you to find a way to freedom without succumbing to the horrors that lie in wait.

All Things to Those Hue Wait

Gameplay in Ib is straightforward and simple. You explore, solve puzzles, clear an area, and move on to the next. There’s nothing extraordinary about the gameplay, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad by any means. A lot of the enjoyment in this game is exploring and finding pieces of Guertena’s weird, frequently creepy art. Especially when said art comes to life and attempts to kill you. For being so cutesy and pixel-y on the surface, the number of jump scares that got me should be downright embarrassing. I jolted more than once (and, to be fair, probably more than a dozen times) during my time with Ib, which I think is a sign of a decent horror game. Each area typically has a puzzle that must be solved, and while none of the puzzles are particularly difficult, the variety is nice: sliding puzzles, word puzzles, fetch-the-item puzzles, and so on.

As you work on solving puzzles, horrors will pop out of paintings, the wall, the floor, you name it, and both scare and damage Ib. A red rose icon shows you many times you can be touched/hit by enemies before you’ll get a game over. Thankfully, scattered around the haunted museum are vases full of water that can be used to restore your rose to its full glory and bloom. Just be mindful – most of the vases have a limited amount of water, and once it’s gone, it’s gone for good. Along the way, you’ll meet others trapped in the exhibition with you, and how you bond with them will affect the ending of the game. Although the game is really quite straightforward and simple, and can be beaten with a couple of short hours, there’s plenty of replay value with multiple endings available.

Time to Face the Mosaic

Aesthetically, Ib does an excellent job of using limited resources for maximum effect. Each area of the museum you explore is frequently creepy (lookin’ at you, room full of creepy, creepy dolls), and the general lack of a soundtrack makes you constantly feel on edge, just waiting, waiting for the next painting to fall off the wall and come to life. Just as one example. The characters and monsters are well-crafted, and again, for not having a huge pool of resources to draw from, the end result is quite delightful. The individual pieces of art you can examine add a nice touch, confirming my suspicions that modern art is both weird and impossible to understand. While Ib won’t be winning any beauty contests, I found its style as charming as it is creepy.

Just Etching to Escape

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.

Final Verdict: 3.5/5 

Available on: Nintendo Switch (reviewed), PC; Publisher: Playism; Developer: kouri; Players: 1; Released: March 9th, 2023; ESRB: T for Teen; MSRP: $14.99

Editor’s note: The publisher provided a review copy to Hey Poor Player.