Developed and published by Enchanted Works, Nomori is a 3D puzzle platformer that takes the familiar concept of walking through portals and gives it a topsy-turvy twist. Playing as Kiko, a young girl who finds herself stranded in a magical spirit world while out collecting mushrooms, players must find a way back home by helping the creatures who inhabit this strange place. The journey takes Kiko through four seasonal domains, each bringing new environments, characters and puzzle mechanics into the mix. Its colorful presentation and gentle atmosphere might suggest a relaxing adventure, but Nomori proves considerably more demanding than its appearance initially lets on.
The central mechanic revolves around portals that alter the orientation of the surrounding environment, allowing Kiko to walk along surfaces that would ordinarily be walls or ceilings. Rather than simply finding a path through a conventional platforming level, players must constantly reconsider the relationship between objects, gravity and their own position. Much of the puzzle-solving involves manipulating Slimebuns, rabbit-like blocks that can be carried, resized and used as platforms or tools to overcome obstacles. Later abilities introduce further possibilities, including changing their physical properties, recording and reversing their movements, and adjusting portals to create new routes through increasingly complicated spaces. When these elements come together, Nomori offers some genuinely clever challenges that encourage experimentation instead of relying on familiar puzzle-game conventions.
There is a pleasing sense of progression as Kiko gradually acquires new abilities and the game combines them in increasingly elaborate ways. The portals are particularly effective at making familiar environments feel unfamiliar, turning a seemingly straightforward route into a problem that requires players to reconsider the entire layout. Optional collectibles scattered throughout the levels provide another reason to investigate unusual paths, while checkpoints help reduce the punishment for falling or having to reconsider a solution. The game can also occasionally reward an unconventional approach, allowing players to discover routes that feel less like following a prescribed solution and more like genuinely understanding the game’s unusual physics. However, the quality of these moments varies. Some puzzles offer that satisfying flash of recognition when everything falls into place, while others feel more like a process of trial and error than a carefully constructed mental challenge.
Difficulty is one of Nomori’s defining characteristics, and not always to its benefit. New mechanics arrive frequently, particularly during the opening stages, and the game often moves on to another idea before the previous one has been explored to its full potential. Although this constant introduction of new possibilities keeps the experience from becoming repetitive, it can also leave individual mechanics feeling underdeveloped. Later levels combine several abilities and demand increasingly precise movement, object placement and spatial awareness. The result can be rewarding for players who enjoy wrestling with complicated three-dimensional puzzles, but the cute presentation does little to prepare newcomers for the challenge ahead. With no conventional hint system or option to skip particularly troublesome stages, getting stuck can bring progress to a halt. Some puzzles also lack the clarity needed to make their eventual solutions feel entirely earned.
The platforming itself is another potential stumbling block. Moving around environments that continually redefine what counts as the floor requires a degree of adjustment, and the physics-based interactions make positioning Kiko and the Slimebuns especially important. When the camera and the layout communicate the available routes clearly, navigating these spaces is an engaging part of the puzzle-solving process. At other times, judging distances and understanding how objects will behave can become unnecessarily fiddly. This is particularly frustrating when a solution depends on precise placement or a carefully timed jump, since an awkward movement can undermine an otherwise promising puzzle. The game’s central ideas are strong enough to withstand a learning curve, but they would benefit from more consistent execution.
Visually, Nomori aims for a whimsical, storybook atmosphere, using pastel colors, seasonal scenery and fantastical architecture to establish a world that feels removed from reality. The changing environments provide welcome variety, and the surreal layouts are an effective match for a game built around bending the rules of perspective and gravity. The cute creatures and distinctive Slimebuns also give the puzzle-solving a playful identity. Nevertheless, the presentation is not uniformly successful. Some environments can look rather plain, and the visual language does not always make it easy to distinguish useful routes or understand how a level fits together. That is a more significant shortcoming in a puzzle game where reading the environment is fundamental to finding a solution. The art direction has a clear identity, but the execution does not always support the gameplay as effectively as it should.
The audio contributes to the game’s softer side, with a gentle, atmospheric soundtrack that complements the seasonal environments and gives players some breathing room between difficult puzzles. Characters communicate through expressive vocal sounds rather than conventional spoken dialogue, a stylistic choice that suits the colorful cast and helps maintain the fairytale atmosphere. This approach will not appeal to everyone, however, and the repeated vocalisations can become irritating over longer sessions. The narrative has a similar mixture of charm and limitation. Kiko’s desire to return to her grandmother provides a straightforward reason to keep moving, while her encounters with the spirits give the journey a sense of companionship. Yet the characters rarely develop beyond their initial impressions, and the dialogue does relatively little to establish a compelling emotional connection. The four-season structure offers an appealing framework for the adventure, but the story often feels secondary to the puzzles rather than an equally engaging reason to continue.
There are smaller frustrations, too. Although the collectible mushroom-like Kodama encourage players to explore beyond the obvious route, the limited tracking makes it difficult to determine exactly what remains undiscovered. The rapid introduction of abilities also means that the game’s most interesting ideas do not always receive enough time to shine before another mechanic takes centre stage.
Nomori is ultimately a game of contrasts. Its imaginative portal mechanics and gravity-defying environments offer a distinctive take on three-dimensional puzzle-platforming, and there are moments when manipulating the world feels genuinely inventive. The colorful presentation and relaxed soundtrack also provide an appealing counterpoint to the mental effort demanded by its later stages. Yet the thin narrative, uneven puzzle design and occasionally awkward platforming prevent the experience from consistently reaching the heights its central concept suggests. Players who enjoy demanding spatial puzzles and are happy to experiment without much guidance will find plenty to appreciate, while those looking for a gentle, story-driven adventure may discover that its cosy exterior is somewhat misleading. Enchanted Works has established a promising foundation, but Nomori’s strongest ideas are not always matched by the polish needed to make every puzzle satisfying.
Score: 7.1/10