Fru Review

"Kinect Integration done Right!"

Campaign

As one of the supporters for Kinect I always love checking out the titles as while limited we're starting to see some great experiences being released for the device. With Fru we get the first title to correctly get the integration of using Kinect with regular gameplay correctly. In the game you play as this girl wearing an animal mask and guiding her through a world that your body integrates with. It's well done as you move into areas in order to remove items in the foreground or make items hidden in the world appear.

You also sometimes need to shape your body to make room for her to continue along and you're also controlling the girl if that wasn't apparent. The game is split into a number of chapters and within each of these is a long selection of levels so there's a good amount of gameplay present. There are also some collectibles to be found in the levels and I made a point of collecting them as they unlock a special bonus area.

I also liked that the game makes a point of mixing things up with each level area presenting a new challenge and each chapter bringing in a new way to use your body in the game like with becoming a liquid entity in chapter two with poses coming into the third chapter. There's also a bit of a story told through murals and while it got the point across it would have been nice to see this element expanded upon.

Gameplay

Fru is your typical basic platformer with jumping, moving across floating islands and working the environments for your advancement. It does all this in a unique way by bringing in the Kinect and it's wonderful to see the two working together. This is a beautiful experience in that regard as you use your body to help the girl progress with great Kinect precision.

It does take a second for the mind to adjust that you're not just moving a controller and awesome once you get that collectible by figuring out the right body movements for it. The levels are also great looking being soft in design and enchanting with the music.

Fru Screenshot

The Conclusion

Fru is an impressive Kinect title and one of the best I've seen for the device that just doesn't get the love it deserves. While it's never too complex in platforming there should be some good puzzles that make you think for a second about how to position your body just right.

The game clearly shows that the Kinect can be introduced into traditional games in unique, fun and useful ways to enhance the experience. It's basically the definition of Kinect integration done right and the experience was definitely lovely. If you have a Kinect ready then this is an experience that is worth your time and hopefully it'll show other developers that this device still has great potential.


Fru Review on Xbox One
Review Code Provided by Fru

Rating Overall: 9.2

Gamerheadquarters Reviewer Jason Stettner