Tiny Brains Will Stimulate Your Nucleus Accumbens

Tiny Brains, this quirky downloadable title from newly-formed indie developer Spearhead Games, sets you and the rest of your couch on an adventure that’s just as smart as it is adorable. You and 3 friends each take control of a weird laboratory animal.

Each tiny guy (rat, hamster, rabbit and… gerbil? Whatever the heck that is) has their own unique powers that will assist both in combat and puzzle solving. The object of the game is to obey your scientist’s orders by completing a series of tests, until finally getting a chance to inflict your revenge on the evil human. Most test scenarios present the typical premise: get the ball in the thing, put the cube in the stuff, but what sets Tiny Brains apart is the constant co-op action. You never get bogged down by sorting through a bunch of switches or decoding some mumbo-jumbo hieroglyphs (looking at you Fez). In Tiny Brains, you’re always in control of the action and free to goof around. With little consequence for player death, leaps of faith and dangerous player experimentation are highly encouraged. Even in between puzzle sequences, you can find yourself smacking, pushing and teleporting your critter companions just for the fun of it. If you’ve ever been “that guy” in Little Big Planet who won’t stop decking the rest of the team, Tiny Brains is right up your alley… you lovable dweeb.

There are also combat scenarios that have your team defending a pink chick as you smack and crack hordes of evil yellow chicks. If you’re bored enough, you might just keep beating them to death (and that’s fun), but more creative players will surely find new opportunities to use their psychic powers for destruction.

Like any good puzzler, you’ll feel smart as you unlock each new stage, but in Tiny Brains it’s a momentous occasion as your 3 friends high five in real life. Out of just the few stages I played, most took some serious teamwork. Each critter’s power is so unique that you really have to communicate and collaborate to get the job done. When I demoed the game, it was with 3 complete strangers. With just a few minutes of gameplay we were talking and laughing together at the sheer zaniness that was happening on on screen.

Tiny Brains is the first game developed by Spearhead Montreal, but this epic trio of designers are no strangers to the games industry. Two of the members are long time game design veterans out of Ubisoft and EA, while the third guy (an actual scientist and professor) supplies the the appropriate writing and voice acting.

No release date or platforms solidified yet, but I’m more than ready for some science!