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Fru
By Chad Sapieha,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Kinect puzzler puts both brains and bodies to the test.
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Fru
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What’s It About?
FRU isn't like any other game you've played. Made for Microsoft's Kinect motion sensor bar, it puts players in control of a little hero trying to find his way through temple-like mazes. You can press a thumbstick to make him move and hold down a trigger to make him jump. But that's only half the control equation. The other half is you; as in literally your body. As you stand in front of the camera, you'll see your body on-screen in the shape of a silhouette. And you'll instantly notice that this silhouette changes the part of the world it covers, making walls and platforms appear and disappear. Your goal is to use your body to create a path for the game's tiny protagonist. This will require you to contort yourself into strange shapes, jump in and out of his way, and shuffle back and forth across the screen. As the game progresses, the nature of your silhouette sometimes changes, becoming, for example, a body of water through which your hero can swim or a conduit that provides energy for small switches that make platforms appear and disappear. There are more than 100 levels/puzzles, and if you collect all the hidden idols in the main story, you'll unlock a secret co-op mode.
Is It Any Good?
This game manages to capture something close to the full potential of motion control, making player movement a real and meaningful part of the experience. This is handled in ways that no one else seems to have previously imagined, especially because most developers never quite seemed to figure out what to do with Microsoft's motion sensor bar. In Fru, it may take a few puzzles to fully appreciate and understand how it works and what it does, but once you do, you'll likely find yourself giggling at the developers' ingenuity and filled with self-satisfaction if the unique solutions you come up with for the game's often very challenging platformer puzzles.
It's not perfect, though. The nature of the silhouette mechanic puts players with smaller bodies at a disadvantage. They'll need to either move closer to the camera (which could cause sensor issues) or be more precise in their movements. Or they could just change their clothes. Baggy pants and dresses will increase the size of your silhouette, making some areas much easier -- and others much harder. It's worth noting, too, that you'll have a lot less fun and may grow more frustrated if you're lazy and unwilling to do things like lie on the floor or hold crazy yoga-style poses. Still, it's just about the best thing Kinect has seen since Xbox One's launch. If your Kinect has been unplugged and sitting on a shelf for the last couple of years, Fru provides ample reason to pull it down, dust it off, and plug it back in.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about screen time. How much time is the right amount of time to spend in front of screens in a given day? If you exercise more, should you be allowed to spend more time in front of the TV? Are there any potential detriments to spending time in front of screens beyond inactivity?
Discuss healthy physical activity. This game won't meet your daily requirement of physical activity, but its yoga-like movement doesn't hurt, either, so did you feel tired after playing? What else could you do during the day to compliment the exercise you get in a game like this?
Game Details
- Platform: Xbox One
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning : analyzing evidence, deduction, solving puzzles, Collaboration : cooperation, Health & Fitness : body awareness, movement
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Through Games
- Release date: July 13, 2016
- Genre: Puzzle
- ESRB rating: E for No Descriptions
- Last updated: October 28, 2019
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