Ynglet review – small but perfectly formed

Ynglet is not the first video game to cast its player as an amoeba. Without an expansive repertoire of abilities to call upon, the single cell organism protagonist presents a certain kind of game designer with an alluring challenge. When all a player can do is swim, dash and float about a bit, puzzle and challenge must be carefully constructed from first principles. If it works, as in Ynglet, a meditative, chic jewel of a short game from Swedish designer Nicklas Nygren, there is a purity and clarity of design that none of the medium's sprawling action epics, with their mythically capable warriors, can rival. Contrary to appearance, this is not a game viewed top-down, as if through a microscope's viewfinder.