Step in front of Kinect to play. A good playing distance for single-player is 1.5-2.5m (5-8ft). In multiplayer mode, player 2 will need to stand 2.5m (8ft) from Kinect.
Another player may take control by standing in front of Kinect. To change to a different account, return to the menu and select your gamertag.
Using Menus
Raise your hand to use menus.
To select a button, hold the cursor over it for a second.
Grab and drag to scroll the level list.
You can also use the gamepad to navigate menus.
Voice Commands in the Menu
Voice Commands in Game
Another player may take control by standing in front of Kinect. To change to a different account, return to the menu and select your gamertag.
Using Menus
Raise your hand to use menus.
To select a button, hold the cursor over it for a second.Grab and drag to scroll the level list.You can also use the gamepad to navigate menus.
Voice Commands in the Menu
- "Xbox Go Back" - goes back to the previous menu.
Voice Commands in Game
- "Xbox Pause" - pauses the game.
- "Xbox Show Menu" - pauses the game.
- "Xbox Play" - resumes game after pausing.
- "Xbox Go Back" - resumes game after pausing.
You control Squid Hero. When you move your hands, Squid Hero's tentacles move too.
To move around, move both your hands, and Squid Hero will fly in that direction. Move your hands up and down to move up and down on the screen. Reach left or right to move sideways. Lean left or right to go further.
Your objective is to smash chunks of ice. Reach for a chunk of ice, and it will stick to Squid Hero's tentacle. Swing your hand to throw it away.
Throw one chunk of ice at another with enough speed, and they will break.
While holding a chunk of ice, you can carry it to a better position without throwing it if you move your hand slowly.
You can swing your hand quickly past a chunk of ice to push it, without needing to pick it up first.
To pause the game, do any of the following:
- Press
.
- Say "Xbox Pause".
- Step out of Kinect view.
If you have trouble reaching the top of the screen, you may need to step a little bit further away from the screen so that Kinect can see your hands when you reach up.
Remember to take a break every now and then!
To complete a level, you must clear all objectives that you come across and get to the end.
If you lose all 3 lives, you can retry from the last checkpoint (unless you return to the menu, after which you'll need to restart the level from the beginning).
If a checkpoint seems too difficult, you can skip it, but you need to make at least 3 attempts without returning to the menu in between.
As you play through levels, you will receive different objectives.
Match Colors Together
You will see ice chunks in 4 different colors: blue, green, purple and black. An ice chunk will only break if you throw it at another one of the same color. If it hits the wrong color, it'll just bounce off. When the pattern is done, you will receive a bonus based on how many correct matches you made. You'll need at least 90% correct matches to reach the best score.
Break Down the Big White Ice Chunks
You'll see one or more big ice chunks floating in the midst of smaller ones. They're too big for Squid Hero to grab, but you can break them down piece by piece by throwing the smaller chunks at them. If you hit the same big chunk many times in a row within a short time, you'll get a combo bonus. You will advance once all big chunks have been completely destroyed.
Turbo
Squid Hero turns on the jetpack's turbo mode! There's no ice to break here, but you must avoid hitting fences and other obstacles. Lean left and right to move Squid Hero. Keep your feet comfortably apart and your knees flexible!
Rescue the Animals
You'll see animals trapped inside ice cubes. They can't get out, and if they float down to the whirlpool at the bottom, they'll sink! You need to throw ice chunks at the animals' ice cubes to free them. Once an animal is freed, touch it once more to rescue it. If even one animal is lost, you'll have to try again.
Make a Hole
You may encounter a big shipwreck blocking your path. Here, you need to throw chunks of ice at the ship to break pieces off. You don't have to destroy the entire ship - it's enough to make a hole that Squid Hero can fit through and pass to the other side. If you ever get stuck behind, you'll lose and have to try again.
Avoid the Mines
Someone has scattered dangerous mines all around the river! They'll explode if you get too close. Your objective is to avoid getting hit by mine explosions. Unlike in Turbo mode, you can use your hands to move around freely.
Mayhem!
During Mayhem, lots of ice will appear all around you. Your objective is to keep smashing them at a steady pace. The faster you smash, the higher the meter will rise. Don't take too long to aim or the meter will fall! But don't clear the entire screen, or you'll have nothing to smash and keep the meter up. Once Mayhem is done, you will receive a bonus based on how high the meter was at the end.
Boss Fights
At the end of each of the five locations, a dangerous boss awaits. You must throw chunks of ice at the boss's weak spot. The bosses are smart, however, and will try to cover their weak spot. Look for openings and strike quickly. You must also avoid getting hit by the boss's weapons. Boss weapons will also destroy any chunks of ice that they hit!
If you lose all 3 lives, you can retry from the last checkpoint (unless you return to the menu, after which you'll need to restart the level from the beginning).
If a checkpoint seems too difficult, you can skip it, but you need to make at least 3 attempts without returning to the menu in between.
As you play through levels, you will receive different objectives.
Match Colors Together
You will see ice chunks in 4 different colors: blue, green, purple and black. An ice chunk will only break if you throw it at another one of the same color. If it hits the wrong color, it'll just bounce off. When the pattern is done, you will receive a bonus based on how many correct matches you made. You'll need at least 90% correct matches to reach the best score.
Break Down the Big White Ice Chunks
You'll see one or more big ice chunks floating in the midst of smaller ones. They're too big for Squid Hero to grab, but you can break them down piece by piece by throwing the smaller chunks at them. If you hit the same big chunk many times in a row within a short time, you'll get a combo bonus. You will advance once all big chunks have been completely destroyed.
Turbo
Squid Hero turns on the jetpack's turbo mode! There's no ice to break here, but you must avoid hitting fences and other obstacles. Lean left and right to move Squid Hero. Keep your feet comfortably apart and your knees flexible!
Rescue the Animals
You'll see animals trapped inside ice cubes. They can't get out, and if they float down to the whirlpool at the bottom, they'll sink! You need to throw ice chunks at the animals' ice cubes to free them. Once an animal is freed, touch it once more to rescue it. If even one animal is lost, you'll have to try again.
Make a Hole
You may encounter a big shipwreck blocking your path. Here, you need to throw chunks of ice at the ship to break pieces off. You don't have to destroy the entire ship - it's enough to make a hole that Squid Hero can fit through and pass to the other side. If you ever get stuck behind, you'll lose and have to try again.
Avoid the Mines
Someone has scattered dangerous mines all around the river! They'll explode if you get too close. Your objective is to avoid getting hit by mine explosions. Unlike in Turbo mode, you can use your hands to move around freely.
Mayhem!
During Mayhem, lots of ice will appear all around you. Your objective is to keep smashing them at a steady pace. The faster you smash, the higher the meter will rise. Don't take too long to aim or the meter will fall! But don't clear the entire screen, or you'll have nothing to smash and keep the meter up. Once Mayhem is done, you will receive a bonus based on how high the meter was at the end.
Boss Fights
At the end of each of the five locations, a dangerous boss awaits. You must throw chunks of ice at the boss's weak spot. The bosses are smart, however, and will try to cover their weak spot. Look for openings and strike quickly. You must also avoid getting hit by the boss's weapons. Boss weapons will also destroy any chunks of ice that they hit!
Chunk of IceYour basic ice. Can be thrown at other things.
Big Ice ChunkCan't be thrown. Break it down with smaller chunks.
MineExplodes if you get too close. You can throw a chunk of ice at a mine to blow it up safely from a distance. If there are other mines close by, they'll blow up in a chain reaction, giving you a bonus. You'll also get a bonus if you get close to a mine but manage to avoid the explosion by moving away quickly. The red mines in in Avoid the Mines checkpoints don't give bonuses, only black mines do.
Gold CoinsPick them up to earn gold for buying hats.
Trapped AnimalThrow ice chunks to free the animal. Touch the animal once more to rescue it.
Extra LifePick it up to restore one life.
Pick up
gold coins to buy hats and other stuff from the shop.
You can access the shop from the main menu, as well as at the end of each level.
The shop also has one special item:
"Life +1" will permanently increase your lives from 3 to 4, letting you take one more hit before having to try again. If you find yourself crashing into fences and being blown up by mines a lot, buy this to increase survivability!
You can play with a friend! Press the "2 Players" button before entering a level to turn on co-op play. You can freely change the setting between levels.
Player 1 stands on the left side and controls the orange Squid Hero. Player 2 stands on the right and controls the purple Squid Hero.
In multiplayer mode, all objectives remain the same, except only one player needs to reach the end of the level. If one of the players loses all lives, they'll be revived at the next checkpoint. If both players lose all lives, you need to retry the level.
The second player doesn't need an account to play. If either player earns achievements, they will go to the account that you sign in when launching the game. While playing a level, players have their own scores that you can compare at the end, but all earned coins will go to the signed-in account.
Multiplayer mode requires both players to stand at the indicated positions. Player 1 must stand closer to the screen than player 2. If either player is not in the correct position, the game will be paused. Follow the on-screen instructions to move to the correct position.
In this example, Player 2 is in the correct position, but Player 1 is standing too far away. Player 1 must move forward until the footprints are inside the circle.
Player 1 stands on the left side and controls the orange Squid Hero. Player 2 stands on the right and controls the purple Squid Hero.
In multiplayer mode, all objectives remain the same, except only one player needs to reach the end of the level. If one of the players loses all lives, they'll be revived at the next checkpoint. If both players lose all lives, you need to retry the level.
The second player doesn't need an account to play. If either player earns achievements, they will go to the account that you sign in when launching the game. While playing a level, players have their own scores that you can compare at the end, but all earned coins will go to the signed-in account.
Multiplayer mode requires both players to stand at the indicated positions. Player 1 must stand closer to the screen than player 2. If either player is not in the correct position, the game will be paused. Follow the on-screen instructions to move to the correct position.
In this example, Player 2 is in the correct position, but Player 1 is standing too far away. Player 1 must move forward until the footprints are inside the circle.