A touch of Tunic and a splash of Zelda in there to boot too
Image credit: Wonderland Kazakiri inc.
Cassette Boy is a game that looks to follow in the footsteps of perspective puzzlers like Fez and Tunic, two games I bring up because of their explicit use of space to hide more, tantalizingly secret space. Out of the two, it’s much closer to Fez, being a 2D world you can rotate to gain new, three dimensional perspectives. Where Fez is a platformer that switches between different, still 2D planes, Cassette Boy lets you switch between front on and more isometric views, and in its world, anything that can’t be seen, doesn’t exist.
This means different things. Cassette Boy is a puzzle …
A touch of Tunic and a splash of Zelda in there to boot too
Image credit: Wonderland Kazakiri inc.
Cassette Boy is a game that looks to follow in the footsteps of perspective puzzlers like Fez and Tunic, two games I bring up because of their explicit use of space to hide more, tantalizingly secret space. Out of the two, it’s much closer to Fez, being a 2D world you can rotate to gain new, three dimensional perspectives. Where Fez is a platformer that switches between different, still 2D planes, Cassette Boy lets you switch between front on and more isometric views, and in its world, anything that can’t be seen, doesn’t exist.
This means different things. Cassette Boy is a puzzle RPG, one that emulates the look of an original Game Boy game, and RPGs typically come with dangers. Perhaps there’s some kind of nasty beastie blocking your path, or spikes with no gap to cross through. Simply rotate to a new angle, and poof! They’re gone. Rotate some more, and they pop right back into existence. You can see why the developer’s referred to it as a "Schrödinger System."
There are battles to be had as well, with fairly simplistic but solid enough sword-based combat you’ve seen in any of the 2D Zeldas. I wonder how that, in particular, may come into play throughout the game, but I’m also curious if puzzles go a bit further than just making enemies or NPCs disappear so you can walk forwards, as that’s mostly what the game’s trailers show.
Still, it’s a neat concept, one that I’m curious enough about to make me want to check it out. And I don’t have to wait long to do that! As it’s currently slated for release in just over a month’s time on January 14th, 2026. Aside from the existential fear that comes from the steady passage of time, that’s pretty good! You can wishlist it on Steam here.