What Lies in the Multiverse [Xbox]

Developed by Studio Voyager and IguanaBee, What Lies in the Multiverse is a 2D puzzle based adventure where you play as a young boy who has a keen interest in multiverse theory. After messing with your computer to see if you could simulate all possible realities, something happens, and the real world starts to shift, before you vanish - leaving a rather unfazed cat (known as Erwin) behind.

Soon you’ll meet Everett, a scientist from Universe Zero who has a magical device in the form of a fancy cane or staff, known as a ‘Voyager’, that allows him to switch between realities. However, due to your ‘experiment’, Everett discovered a problem - and thought he should track you down in order to sort things out, before agreeing to take you under his wing as an assistant. There are various people tracking you and Everett down, due to all of the multiverse-meddling you’re getting up to, and so you’ll find yourselves getting into all sorts of drama, including losing the treasured multiverse-switching staff!

The story is really interesting, and well done across the cutscenes and the dialogue boxes with character face-boxes to show more emotion along with what they’re saying. As well as having a deep story, there’s a lot of humour that feels very natural, making the characters and their interactions with each other really believable. As the game progresses, the story takes a darker turn, which kept us hooked.

You can switch between universes with a tap of the trigger, with a fairly normal looking option and a destruction-filled post-calamity option to begin with. Utilising the different universes allows for you to progress, gaining access to new areas, and to bypass blockages that are non-existent in one timeline, but there in another. There are various NPCs to speak with, and it is alarming to see their skeletons when shifting to other universes. Switching between timelines can result in you coming across some pretty dark situations, including a little guy sitting in a cave fishing, who is then drowned in the risen water when you switch. Some objects (and even people) will glitch out between realities, and these are known as ‘Ubiquitous’ - and you’ll come across lots of these on your travels, with them even proving useful at times within certain gameplay mechanics.

The art style is gorgeous, with distinctive designs across each universe, and emotive character designs. Taking your time to explore feels rewarding, as you’ll often come across interesting sights, and switching between universes (even when the level doesn’t currently require it) will frequently allow you to get a glimpse of a bunch of different remnants from the people who live there and the people who once did. The music switches to a slower, darker, more solemn version of itself when you shift into the destroyed universe, with happier, more joyful tracks in the ‘normal’ universe.

As you explore, you’ll come across collectible items known as Memories, detailing past events such as the moments preceding nearby corpses’ demise, as well as items belonging to people that have since passed, and more. There are also various achievements to nab by exhausting dialogue options with certain characters, as well as dying in a variety of ways. The puzzles offer a good challenge, but aren’t too difficult - so you won’t find yourself getting too frustrated at any point, as flipping between realities is often the trigger to being able to pass any obstacles.

Priced at £12.49 on the Xbox Store, What Lies in the Multiverse offers a fantastic time, with deep storytelling and intriguing concepts that kept us thoroughly interested. It can be completed in around 6-7 hours, which means you won’t have it stuck on your backlog too long after beginning, and the enjoyable gameplay will have you wanting to keep coming back to complete the story, and uncover exactly What Lies in the Multiverse…

In the end, we decided to give What Lies in the Multiverse the Collecting Asylum rating of 8.5/10.

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- V x

Thank you to Untold Tales for the What Lies in the Multiverse Xbox review code!