Grimms' Fairy Tales is one of my favorite books and by book I mean, book, not novel, but just book. It's a collection of some of our greatest fairy tales and has spawned so much in the way of stories and comics and movies. Woolfe - The Red Hood Diaries, a game by GriN, is a creative re-envisioning of the classic tale, much like Fables (DC Comics). Woolfe takes Red Riding Hood and brings her to sort of a fantasy steampunk setting, where the big bad wolf has taken over her town of Ulrica. A strange occurance around her father's death has had her return to the city to discover more, which starts this strange and wonderful fairy tale. 

So let's talk about the game, first and foremost. It's got a lot of interesting things going for it, including a 2.5D graphic set. It's not specifically a traditional sidescroller, you can move both north, south, east, west, up, and down, but it's all confined to sort of a flat 2D plane, if that makes sense. This works well for the game, because of a lot of the neat use of standard mechanics. 

For instance, there is a lot of wall jumping in the game, but the wall jumping is done through double jumps and hanging on ledges which are auto-grabbed. Auto-grabbed ledges is something I wish more games had (I'm looking at you Dying Light). It's a nice mix between old school platformers, ala Tomb Raider, and more modern parkour based games. It's more about timing and figuring out the order and where to jump at than it is speed, in most instances. 

Speaking of speed, the game isn't static in its formula and mixes up gameplay quite a bit, not only chapter to chapter, but map to map even. There is an instance in the game where you're being chased by the enemy and you have to run, dodge, and move instead of fight. In other instances, stealth is required to complete the objective. There is also variation and you can avoid fights by setting off traps and utilizing stealth to your advantage. 

Further into the adventure, it opens up into a beautiful platforming puzzle game, where combat takes a backseat, which is refreshing. It's not as if combat isn't existent, it's not the entire point of the game. Speaking of the platforming, some of the environments that you do it in are outright gorgeous. I mean, just absolutely stunning for an indie game like this. 

The early access has some hiccups. The build I played only had one boss bottle and that battle was really cool. You have to learn positioning and stack enemies to get the most out of your swings. For the game as a whole, it's rather solid, but there is some graphical / audio glitches here and there, and the game isn't complete, missing some boss battles and additional content (in addition to an entire second game to come out, due to the size, scope, and desire to remain on schedule, a nice touch for backers). 

Oh and the voice acting is rather nice. It's very professional and while it does rhyme, it's not over the top, and while it's funny, it's not too funny, since the game has a "grim" motif about it. It's very, appropriate, and fitting. Which is great as a fan of immersion because you can really get into the story with something authentic and well defined. 

I think that Woolfe has a lot going for it and, ultimately, is a great showing that 2.5D is a creative venue for game developers to continue working in. It's not full 3D, but it's not completely 2D so there is room to be creative. If you're a fan of Trine, Crash Bandicoot, or LittleBigPlanet, then the 2.5D will make a lot of sense to you. 

I was happy with my time in the early access and while the game isn't complete, I see a lot of promise. I would suggest backing now, if interested, but waiting to play too much until it's a bit more complete to avoid having to replay levels to see the boss battles and the such. If you're more on the fence, I think waiting to launch is appropriate as well, since this is a game that I think you'd want to play once and enjoy the experience.