The buzz on Öoo before it got shadowdropped on Switch after the March 2026 Japanese Indie World was that it was an incredible follow-up to developer NamaTakahashi’s debut game ElecHead. His first game was so electric that I didn’t think and just bought Öoo the moment I heard it was out on Switch. By the end of the day, I had beaten Öoo. I am now here to tell you that this game is leaps and bounds better than ElecHead (which is already very good!) and is one of the smartest and tightest platformers I’ve played this side of VVVVVV.

You play as a little caterpillar fella who gets stuck in a labyrinth. You can’t jump. All you can do is move. Until you find a bomb. With the power of this one bomb, you can shoot yourself up in the air, across gaps, and then all sorts of permutations on those basics. From the moment you get that first bomb, the game unfurls into thinky game nirvana. Each room pushes you a little bit further into contemplating how to use your limited moveset in thrilling new ways. At multiple points during the game, I cackled out loud at the sheer cleverness of some of the puzzles. Now the game isn’t called Öo, it’s called Öoo, so it doesn’t feel like a spoiler to say at some point you get a second bomb, but when that happens, the game opens up even more.

Depending on how quickly you figure out the puzzles, you can finish the game in sub-2 hours. It’s short but impactful. While I would have easily eaten up more bomb jump challenges, Öoo feels complete as is. It’s a stunning, whip-smart Metroidbrainia. Öoo is a brilliantly brain-wrinkling puzzle game that belongs either above or up there with the inspirations NamaTakahashi lists in the credits (Bomb Chicken, Box Boy!, Celeste, Metroid, Yoshi's Island, Cocoon, VVVVVV). Öoo is what I want video games to be.