Peanut butter and cheese? Jay-Z and Linkin Park? A wolf pup and a fawn? Some pairings sound ridiculous on paper, but end up working. Blanc, a black-and-white cooperative adventure, does its best to unite the latter pairing. Indie developer, Casus Ludi’s freshman outing is a treat to the eyes and ears. The hand drawn world and characters shine brightest and are backed by excellent use of the soundtrack and sound design. It has its share of issues in the form of some uncooperative AI companions and a finicky camera. Its short campaign might also leave some players in the cold. As flawed as it is, the combination of looks and sounds, paired with a minimalist approach to storytelling and some fun co-op levels, makes for a cooperative experience that doesn’t ask a lot from you, but gives a lot back in return.
Alone and covered in snow, players take on the roles of a wolf pup and a fawn, as they team up to search for their animal families. It’s an adventure that takes them through large fields of snow, sleepy villages, and towering factories. Following the separate tracks of their pack and herd, players work together to navigate the rugged terrain using both characters’ unique abilities. The wolf pup’s chewing/pulling allows it to create paths for the fawn with objects in the world, such as a sign hanging from a rope. On the opposite end, the fawn can boost the wolf pup up to out of reach platforms. Blanc is the most fun when you’re jumping around a level and figuring out how to navigate an area using these unique abilities. While the abilities keep the campaign fresh, they didn’t do enough to make me want to revisit the game as the other baby animal. After having my fill of wolf pup, I didn’t see a reason to return to play as the fawn.
Blanc breezed by, with only a few moments taking some extra brain power between my partner and me. One section requires tunneling baby chicks through wind gusts by blocking the wind with both characters’ bodies. There was some frustration with that moment, as the area of blocked wind didn’t seem to match up with the visuals. Some trial and error eventually led to a workable solution. This was a common thread across the campaign. Most frustrations we had were usually correlated to an AI controlled animal needed to complete a level. In one level, you partner up with a goat duo that copies your every move. It’s a great level that builds upon things you learned earlier in the game, but it’s brought down by the AI not fully cooperating and slowing your forward progress.
The biggest issue I had with Blanc was its camera, and its inability to keep up with the action in some levels. This is especially noticeable in areas with tight quarters. In an early level, you hop across the rooftops of a village and occasionally find yourself on the ground between buildings. Turning a corner would result in the camera losing track of one character (or both) and jumping quickly to try and refocus on them. Other standout issues include the camera falling behind when ascending a hill, or when both characters are separated and have a great distance between them. This makes traversing some areas a headache and can slow some platforming down.
Instead of counting on dialogue, Blanc lets its soundtrack and sound design carry the weight of its emotional beats. It does this effectively, from the whimsical piano keys as you slide down a large hill, to the heavy wind gusts and swelling of violins as you cross a treacherous path. The game isn’t afraid of killing the music and letting you hear your surroundings. The crunching of snow alone is enough for me to recommend rocking headphones for a solo playthrough. The characters also do a great job of emoting throughout, with barks and whines. The story is heartfelt, but doesn’t overdo the drama or lure you into the tropes or twists you come to expect from indie games of a similar cloth.
There is not an inch of this game that wouldn’t make a beautiful screenshot. I found myself stopping a few times just to take in the scene. My wolf pup against a mass of white snow. Pup and fawn tracks behind us, weaving back-and-forth. Black ice with a snow covered village in the background. Blanc perfectly emulates the calm aftermath of a winter storm with ease.
My two playthroughs of Blanc averaged out around two hours. As a game marketed on its co-op, I see a perfect amount of time for getting together with a partner or friend and knocking out a game in a few short sessions. The game can be completed solo, with both characters’ movements controlled by a thumbstick and their abilities and jumps tied to the triggers and bumpers. On the PC, controllers are recommended for the best experience. Out of curiosity, I attempted a solo run on keyboard and found myself switching to a controller in the opening minutes, thanks to a funky key layout. I still recommend co-op over going in alone.
Finding another player to play with online proved challenging in my time with the game. It was disappointing, but not something I was totally surprised by. Playing on both Switch and PC, I opted for couch co-op, which felt like the way the game was intended to be played. Nothing will ever come close to beating the in-person experience of telling your partner, “Jump over there. No you dummy, over there!”
Performance wise, it should be no surprise that the PC version outshines the aging Switch. Load times are a little longer on Nintendo’s system. There were a few framerate drops in moments with faster motion, such as sliding down slopes, but it was only noticeable in moments where one player fell behind the other and was no longer on screen. Otherwise, my time with both versions was enjoyable with limited performance issues.
Blanc’s pairing of a wolf pup and fawn is flawed, with AI and camera issues that take away from the core gameplay experience. These issues alone should have been enough to drive me screaming, hands up, in the other direction. Instead, I stayed, gazed at the hand-drawn backgrounds, took in the relaxing soundtrack, and enjoyed the rare occurrence of couch co-op, even if it was only for a short time.
