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STAFF REVIEW of Promenade (Xbox One)


Thursday, February 29, 2024.
by Peggy Doyle

Promenade Box art Promenade is a beautiful 2D game developed by Holy Cap Studio and published in conjunction with Red Art Games. It combines multiple genres to create a beautifully blended game involving puzzles, collecting and platforming.

At the beginning of Promenade, you fall through a cave section and land in the water. While you can’t save yourself, an adorable purple octopus uses heroic effort and saves you. The main character (Nemo) is then accompanied by that small octopus carrying it on their back. The octopus serves as both a companion and a weapon of sorts. You can throw the octopus out and it can grab and pull in enemies. The octopus will also become a grappling hook eventually. This will either clear the way for you to move through a space, or you can use the enemy as a projectile, or even a way to propel yourself across spaces either horizontally or vertically. Throwing a grabbed enemy or object downward while jumping propels you instead of having a double jump.


The main plot is to restore the Great Elevator. An evil entity has broken it, and the Great Elevator is the only way to move between worlds. To accomplish this you need to collect cogs that will drop into place and allow you to activate and move machinery. This allows you to advance through the levels as well. You earn these cogs by completing challenges in each level. Once you collect a certain amount of them in each level, you can advance to the next.

One of the things I enjoyed about Promenade is that you don’t need to collect every single cog piece in the game. There is a minimum amount needed to move on, but you won’t need all of them. Because of this, the game is designed so that you can make it easier or more difficult depending on how many you want to try to collect. Some puzzles will allow you to attempt them multiple times, each with ramped-up difficulty, allowing you the option to gather more than one cog piece at times. The first example of this was when I encountered a race where I had to race a penguin that could fly. The first race was easier, the second was harder. Because you open skills over time, you can backtrack to complete puzzles you passed over at a later time.

If you fall from heights, you can end up in levels you’ve already completed. When looking around it will appear that the tasks have been reset, and you can see the cogs you collected back in their places although they are in balloon form instead of their original solid form. I wasn’t a fan of this, as they were the same yellow colour and sometimes, I questioned where and what I had collected. Perhaps a change of colour would have made it more obvious. Again, this could be blamed on my eyes more than a design choice. If you fall you can take the elevators back up to where you were, however, this will add time. One benefit of this is that you can explore parts again. I can see a preference for checkpoints versus working your way back up though.



It was not lost on me that the gameplay was designed like a leisurely stroll and discovery of the greater world. There was no direct line through the levels, and some of the cogs were harder to find. This should be expected as the name, Promenade, is French for a walk or stroll.

While the game isn’t particularly difficult, there are no standard difficulty settings or accessibility options available. I found some sections frustrating with trying to get my timing down, though I blame it on my aged reflexes. You do have the ability to turn on options like having your hearts/health replenish in differing intervals. If you set them low enough the chances of you dying in battles are basically zero. Because of the style of the game, and art style, I think this is a game that will appeal to gamers of all ages. Each new mechanic is explained as you get it and the gameplay feels organic. The game rewards curiosity. It doesn’t tell you where you need to go but look around and you’ll find something to do, something to collect or complete.

Promenade will take approximately 10 hours to complete fully. If you are skilled, you can finish the game in about five hours, not picking up every cog.



The art style immediately grabbed my attention; subtle and charming, the right amount of nostalgia that you can’t quite explain what it reminds you of. The pastel, almost watercolour palette brings a cozy calm to the gameplay. Each level has a distinct look and feel, from a beach with a lighthouse, birds, and sailboats, to outer space full of stars and planets, even snowcapped mountains, and a city among the clouds. The music is more ambient than standing out, bringing a sense of calm and peace to the beautiful art design. It does amp up during more dynamic situations like boss fights.

Do not be fooled by its cute cartoon design and its pillow fort save points. Promenade is a brilliant platformer.

Promenade was developed by a new studio whose website says the game was developed by “4 enthusiasts who want to create a unique video game experience”. I think they were successful, and I can’t wait to see what they bring to life next.

**Promenade was provided by the publisher and reviewed on an Xbox Series X**




Overall: 8.7 / 10
Gameplay: 8.5 / 10
Visuals: 9.0 / 10
Sound: 8.5 / 10

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