{Completely Stretchy} is one of those strange, strange titles that come to mind that are so crazy and bizarre that we don't really know how to process them. That's not a bad thing at all, it just means that they are different and unusual, but usually such titles leave unforgettable experiences, as happened a few years ago when {Bugsnax} came out.
{Completely Stretchy}'s approach is virtually indescribable due to its randomness. When playing, we put ourselves in the shoes of a strange character who, after an accident in the laboratory, becomes an elastic and sticky blue creature. From there, it's up to us to use the character's new physical abilities to explore three open levels and find the {Elektros}, black, hairy creatures that act as a stable source of energy for the islands known as the {Grombli Islands} serve. . We are all very confused at this point, but {Completely Stretchy} wants us to be like that throughout the experience, accepting the strange and unnatural. And I don't even know how it does it, but with its simple and fun gameplay it works perfectly.
{Completely Stretchy} was born from the ideas of developer Dan Ferguson and he later handed over development responsibility to the {Wrap Digital} team who gave it the finishing touches. It is a pure adventure, it does not follow any central story as such. Instead, we simply explore the three islands, talk to the locals, complete the tasks and missions they ask of us, go in search of the most absurd innuendos and secrets, and capture any {Elektros} we find along the way. We must do all of this to repair the {Grombli Islands} main power reactor and find a way to return to normal and no longer be blue or elastic. The dialogues have no voice and the missions we have to complete are not really serious. We focus on simply exploring and interacting with everything we see, and generally existing in a playground that is anything but serious and can only be described as a dream or the wildest hallucination.
This explains why the best thing about {Completely Stretchy} is nothing more and nothing less than its dynamism and its movement. With our powerful arms we swing and jump around the world, climbing and jumping from anything we can reach. We can choose between climbing the tallest building on the entire island or entering the deepest caves to discover their secrets. But no matter what we choose, Range of Motion improves our experience by giving us all the tools and skills we need to move anywhere with ease. The physics system and fluid movement guarantee that {Completely Stretchy} is very entertaining, but that doesn't mean that there aren't details to improve.
On the one hand, the project does not follow any particular direction as there is no central story. {Completely Stretchy} depends on how we choose to play it. What I mean by this is that our missions and adventures depend on what comes to mind as most of the side missions can be completed in a moment and are not relevant at all. The islands, as extravagant as they are, are somewhat empty in terms of elements that catch our attention, which really surprised me given their smallness. Although there are several buildings we can enter, open drawers and cupboards, climb mountains, explore waterfalls and inspect containers, very rarely do we come across anything truly interesting. Usually we come across electro, an absurd joke, a pop culture reference or nothing at all, which is the case most of the time. The references he uses may occasionally make us laugh, but the jokes lose their wit in the end and when we get to that point we begin to perceive {Completely Stretchy} as a somewhat empty and limited experience.
I have to admit that the performance is of high quality and I did not encounter any technical problems while exploring the {Grombli Islands}, but I did notice that the map did not work as expected. It ended up being a bit clunky, rigid and unwieldy, which is a real shame because it's clear that {Warp Digital} wanted to put a lot of emphasis on it and presented it to us as a rich, detailed live 3D model of the game world. It's incredibly beautiful, but it just doesn't work.
On the other hand, the artistic direction stands out very much and fits perfectly into this work. One could argue that it's a bit boring, especially with its color palette, but I think it works quite well as a base for this flamboyant world and makes it more entertaining. The soundtrack also more than fulfills its role, which is particularly important since there is no dialogue or relevant audio beyond the basic sound effects and background music.
In short, {Completely Stretchy} left me with mixed feelings. The short and succinct nature of the experience, its quirkiness and the fun moves it offers really kept me entertained and surprised throughout the game. But at the same time it seemed to me that he had no tricks up his sleeve. It's a title that gives the impression of being very deep and containing varied content, but in reality it's just trying to be something more than what meets the eye. Without a doubt, I will keep the memory of {Completely Stretchy}, because the title is generally as absurd as it is unique, but it doesn't seem like something that will really mark the history of indie games.
