Released: Feb 14, 2009
Developer/Publisher: Imangi Studios, LLC
Verdict: Buy It – $1.99
Pros: Music is amazing, controls are responsive, graphics are cute as heck!
Cons: Shorter than expected

The fine folks at Imangi Studios have done it again. This time, though, they’ve taken their game to the next level. Instead of a killer word game, or brainbuster of a puzzle, they’ve found their way straight down the hill to the fun buried deep in our inner child’s black, soulless heart.

I’ve played this title a couple of times through to the same tough level now, choosing a different avatar (there are two, a boy and a girl) each time. I’ve got to say that this game continues to call to me.

The developers have somehow taken music, 3D and sprite-based graphics, sound effects, and accelerometer controls and turned my iPhone into a conduit for joy. I can’t put my finger on the precise mixture of this gestalt, but I do know that I feel good when I’m playing it. I get those joyful, wistful, childlike (but not childish) feelings that I can associate with sledding, or riding my bicycle real fast down a hill as a kid. There’s something here that makes this game greater than the sum of its parts.

Let me pause here and take a moment to RAVE about the musical soundtrack to this game. It is integral to the feelings evoked when playing, so as such it deserves some extra time. Take a listen to the main theme below, performed by the composer, Natalia Luckyanova:

You can see this video in full size AND download the main musical theme here: http://www.imangistudios.com/littleredsled/extras.html

As I tried to write up a typical review, I couldn’t. This is not a typical iPhone game. So, here’s what I settled on: an experiential description of my time with the game. All I can do in this review is show you my own experience — you’ll have to play it to find out if they combine to something greater than the sum in the elegant way they did and continue to do for me.

Launching the app, I notice the colors, the drawing. It’s simple, not simplistic; vibrant, not overwhelming. The load time is quick, though I tap the screen in anticipation, until I notice the “Tap anywhere to begin” message at the bottom of the screen. A girl sits atop a sled, next to a figure I’m assuming is a boy. They are facing away from me, looking into the field of trees. I notice a safe little cottage, white puffy smoke coming out of the chimney. The trees are all white, as are the bunnies that peek from between their branches. I’m already hooked, and I haven’t played the game.

The next screen shows me a mountain side, reminiscent of those SSX games I played on the GameCube. There’s a green dot in the lower left. I’m assuming it’s a bunny slope. It’s only later that I notice the preferences and credits button in the top two corners. The sun is bright, shining, and smiling. The mountains recede into the distance. I’m ready.

Each level has specific goals for me. The first few levels show me how to play, with a training image at the start of the level.  My own trial and error as I sled down each hill is a fine training exercise as well. The first goal? Collect 5 gifts. Notice here, the subtle gentleness and joy. In this game, I get presents, wrapped up in festive red paper and yellow ribbon. In many other games, I would be running over rabbits, spraying “comical” spurts of blood. This game, I see from the start, is different. I get through the first few levels quickly, but joyfully: calm and serene, I float over slopes and collect gifts, tilting my device to control the sled. Each level gets a little trickier, the gifts laid out a bit more sparsely. The music, ohhh the music, is bubbly, wistful, full of childhood dreams of snow and speed.

Throughout the game, there are subtle, almost unconscious clues to the developer’s intent. The message I receive is “enjoy, sledding is fun, you’re doing GREAT!” Encouragement is the dominant theme in all the audio and textual reinforcers. When you do a trick well, you hear “Woohoo!” When you finish a level with a new record, even if you have fallen short of the actual goal for that level, you will hear, “Hooray!” When you can’t get past a level, you might hear, “Oh, no!” The text at the top of the screen says things like, “Are you Santa? ‘Cause you sure have a lot of gifts!” and “That’s the best so far! Almost there!” Just like my best friend in grade school, this game makes me feel good about myself. I know that it knows that I am trying my best, and that the object of any game or sport is not to win, but how you play the game. Only good sports need apply here.

Then I got to THAT LEVEL. You know which one I’m talking about. The one that usually makes me put the game down, maybe never to pick it up. The one that frustrates me to no end, because it requires skills I do not have, yet. That level for me in Little Red Sled is the Score 85,000 points level. VERY hard for me to do. It requires turning, braking, strategies about what order to grab the gifts, do the tricks, etc. I get very frustrated with this level. But I don’t put it down. I want to keep playing it. Why? Did I suddenly turn into a completion fanatic, forcing myself past the frustration to complete a difficult level? No. I believe that gaming should be fun, and if I’m THAT frustrated, i’ll stop playing. With this level, however, I feel encouraged. Filled with the courage to keep trying. My best friend knows I can do it, and instead of taunting me, my friend tells me, “yes, you can.”

I get through the level to the other side. This is a remarkable game.

If I had a spare $1.99, and I do, I’d buy this game again. It’s wistful, beautiful, responsive and full of charm. It’s a game to play when you feel a need for the happiness and joy of childhood, sledding, and….rabbid bunnies, of course. Kudos to the whole development team on this gem of a pleasure.