Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

La La Land 5 unfolds as a surreal 2D platformer, putting you in control of Biggt—a bat-like Bible salesman—whose daily routine revolves around navigating trippy environments and charming pink salmon villagers. Movement feels tight and responsive: Biggt can run, double-jump, and cling briefly to walls, allowing for creative traversal of floating platforms, shifting ledges, and mysterious archways. The core challenge lies in mastering these maneuvers while keeping an eye out for your next customer.

(HEY YOU!! We hope you enjoy! We try not to run ads. So basically, this is a very expensive hobby running this site. Please consider joining us for updates, forums, and more. Network w/ us to make some cash or friends while retro gaming, and you can win some free retro games for posting. Okay, carry on 👍)

Each level tasks you with approaching villagers, opening a simple sales menu, and completing quick-time events or button-mashing sequences to make a sale. It sounds whimsical, and it is—but these scripted “sales pitches” also serve as checkpoints scattered throughout the map. Every successful transaction fuels your progress toward the level’s endpoint: a solitary bed bathed in moonlight.

Once you collapse into the bed, a new dawn breaks and the cycle restarts on a slightly fuzzier screen. This incremental blurring mechanic adds real tension: familiar platforms feel slippery, enemies are harder to spot, and hidden paths warp in and out of focus. While the fuzz can occasionally cross into frustrating, it also reinforces the game’s central motif of routine unraveling—and keeps you on your toes.

Graphics

La La Land 5 embraces a dreamy, hand-painted aesthetic that mixes pastel hues with occasional neon accents. Biggt’s bat-like silhouette stands out crisp and cartoonish against shifting backdrops of rolling hills, twisted trees, and glimmering lakes. Pink salmon villagers, rendered in soft, bubblegum tones, provide a whimsical contrast and guide your eye toward sales opportunities.

The most striking visual element, however, is the day-to-day distortion. What starts as a minor haze gradually grows into a full-blown static overlay, complete with rolling scanlines and chromatic aberration. This effect not only reinforces the game’s narrative cycle but also demands sharper focus on platform placement and timing as the world scrambles around you.

Performance remains solid throughout—there are no stutters or dips even when the screen layers stack up. Load times are minimal, and the UI remains legible despite the intentional fuzz. If there’s one criticism, it’s that the heavy distortion can occasionally obscure important details, like the precise landing edge of a platform or a hidden villager tucked behind scenery.

Story

On the surface, La La Land 5’s story is simple: Biggt rises each morning to peddle his Bibles to curious fish-folk, then collapses into bed when the day ends. Yet beneath this repetitive loop lies a subtle meditation on routine, purpose, and existential drift. With each passing cycle, the world frays—mirroring Biggt’s own mounting fatigue and blurred sense of self.

The narrative unfolds almost entirely through environmental storytelling. Scrawled graffiti on brick walls hints at long-forgotten villagers, half-collapsed shrines littered around the map suggest bygone faith, and the bed itself grows angrier—its sheets turning ragged as Biggt’s days repeat. There’s no voice acting or dialogue; instead, the story seeps through atmosphere and player interpretation.

While some players may wish for more explicit plot beats or character moments, others will appreciate the game’s commitment to minimalism. The lack of overt exposition invites you to project your own meaning onto Biggt’s struggles, making each discovery—be it a dusty relic or a cryptic symbol—all the more resonant.

Overall Experience

La La Land 5 is a singular experience in the platforming genre: part minimalist adventure, part psychological experiment. Its blend of tight controls, charming world-building, and escalating visual distortion creates a loop that’s equal parts familiar and unsettling. Even when repetition sets in, the game’s surreal ambiance and growing mysteries keep you curious about what tomorrow will bring.

Pros include its distinctive art style, inventive level design, and the clever use of visual fuzz to simulate entropic decay. On the flip side, the repetitive cycle may wear thin for players seeking more varied challenges or a clearer narrative payoff. A handful of platforming sections verge on pixel-perfect timing just as the screen goes blurry, which can feel unfairly punishing.

For those drawn to experimental platformers with a meditative edge, La La Land 5 offers a memorable journey through the cracks of routine and reality. If you relish atmospheric games that ask more questions than they answer—and don’t mind a dash of frustration as the world distorts around you—Biggt’s surreal odyssey is well worth the trip.

Retro Replay Score

null/10