Ittle Dew 2+: a Lovely 2D Zelda Hampered By Terrible Combat

In an ideal world, Ittle Dew 2—I played the 2+ version on the Switch—would have been everything I wanted from a puzzle-centric 2D action/adventure that’s clearly inspired by the classic 2D Zeldas. Unfortunately, the real world is far from ideal: a fact we’re faced with when browsing the news and when playing this game. I started playing this back in 2018 and after about three hours gave up. I couldn’t remember why and gave it the second chance Ittle should deserve but doesn’t. I’ve collected my updated thoughts here.

For the uninitiated, in Ittle Dew 2(+), you’re a bandada-wearing girl just trying to get off an island you stranded on, together with your winged fox (I think?) called Tippsie—because he also serves as Link’s Navi, get it? Tips? Ha! That should set the mood for the rest of the game as Ittle is a very silly game in the best imaginable way: the ridiculous banter between the antagonist(s) before and after boss fights, the unique enemy design (e.g. peddling pirates that whack you with their peddle and turn into pirate-body-with-cannon-heads floating on a Lifebuoy when irritated), and the even sillier dungeon design (e.g. the “Art Exhibit” is actually a dungeon? or how about someone’s flooded basement or a giant waste heap).

In order to get off the island, Ittle has to fetch eight raft pieces from their designated dungeon meaning there are eight unique locations to discover. While that sounds like a daunting task, scouring for secrets, running through, and finishing an area takes less than an hour: it’s quite a short ride. The locations are set apart well enough and the cartoony art direction is very fitting. All these things make me even madder, as so far it’s nothing but good news. Just like the Zelda overworld, enough hidden caves that require bombing (in this game dynamite-ing) hidden walls that might reveal a crayon acting as a piece of heart will keep you happily occupied for the remainder of the time.

That is, unless you run into an enemy. After the first few worlds, they become very aggressive, are true damage sponges, and emit god knows how many projectiles for you to dodge. Yes, there’s a dedicated dodge roll button that will render you invincible for a very brief period of time. But its shoddy implementation results in pure frustration instead of an evasive adrenaline kick. This is not supposed to be a bullet hell game, yet as soon as you encounter a boss fight, that’s exactly what it feels like. Ittle has means to defend herself: a stick that can eventually be upgraded into a fire sword, but pressing that attack button feels icky instead of good: the animation is short and the combat can best be summarized as clunky.

Couple this with reappearance of enemies as soon as you retrace your steps and you’ll know what I mean by “hampered by terrible combat”. Ittle Dew 2 is supposed to be a 2D Zelda-like with emphasis on puzzling, not on combat. I know this because Ittle Dew 1 was a pure puzzle-oriented experience (I did not play) and Ittle 2’s progress is locked behind Sokoban-style push-block puzzles. Even if you factor in the Zelda experience, Link still had his shield, while Ittle has a useless roll. And most of all, Link controls well and his attack pattern and animation feels satisfying.

I “solved” Ittle’s biggest problem by simply running away from enemies, but even that strategy doesn’t hold up in the last quarter of the game. By then, enemies hit very hard and bosses rain down bullets faster than you can say Dew. After procuring my sixth raft piece, I just gave is a rest. In 2016, little to none 2D action/adventure games managed to live up to Zelda’s legacy, although many tried. But by the time you’re reading this, early 2025, we’ve had games like Death’s Door, Tunic, and even the remake of the grandmaster himself, Link’s Awakening. As much as it breaks my heart to write this, I see very little reason to recommend Ittle Dew 2 nowadays.

Again, in an ideal world, Ittle Dew 2 would be a lovely iteration on the genre. I loved the general silliness the island is steeped in and I liked secret hunting and the Sokoban brain teasers that I thought form the heart of the game. Even the music is great: as soon as you enter a cave, the theme of that world is instantly turned into a more muted version.

Thanks to the combat, I just don’t think it’s worth the frustration. Not all enemies are avoidable: at least two rooms in every dungeon require you to defeat them all before the next door unlocks, forcing you into an awkward “shit I timed my roll wrong” do-over time and time again.

Reading the Rock Paper Shotgun review, it seems that I am not the only one bedazzled by the decision of the developer to emphasize the bad combat design:

The combat in the first game barely deserved the title. It was a fun aside, a little bit of bopping baddies or tricking foes to allow progress. This time out it’s gone absolutely stark-raving bonkers with the difficulty, at points approaching a bullet hell-like volume of combatants on screen. And the decision to do this is mystifying. What had previously been a gentle, daft and engrossing puzzle RPG has now become in places a twitch-controls whack-fest, requiring an adept level of its dodgy dodge-roll that I’m not sure I care to develop.

Exactly.

What an unfortunate waste…