Months ago, I first played ILA: A Frosty Glide as a demo for Steam Next Fest. Now, as it is Steam Next Fest once more, I got to experience the full title! I get to skate on my broom twice for Steam Next Fest. How much has it changed since the demo?
Game Name: ILA: A Frosty Glide
Platform(s): PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PC (Reviewed)
Developer(s): Magic Rain Studios
Publisher(s): First Break Labs
Release Date: October 20th, 2025
Price: $19.99
In ILA: A Frosty Glide, you are ILA searching for her cat, Coco. You must travel up mountains and through cities in this magical place as you discover more about this world. All in the process of finding your cat and understanding how a cat got up this monster of a mountain in the first place.
The Good
When I started playing ILA: A Frosty Glide, I immediately felt the muscle memory kicking in again. This game plays well. Jumping, gliding, dashing, and dropping on the ground for coins feels so fun and satisfying. This game is just a delight to play and move around the world. I don’t remember being able to do this in the demo, but if you wait long enough at a location, you can put your perspective into first person, letting you scour the immediate locations you have access to. This made it easier to see where I would need to go or where I could explore.
ILA: A Frosty Glide has the sense of absurdist humor that I enjoy. The world has a lot of personality in the characters, the notes you find, the secret coves you can discover, and even in the pictures and statues you will see. They bring life to this world and also help show ILA isn’t all that different in it, even though she does skate on her witch’s broom. That isn’t to say there aren’t heartfelt moments. There are art scenes strewn along the game that show her relationship with her family and just why she goes to such lengths to find Coco.
The graphics I talked about in the preview mostly talked about the polygonal art direction. Overall, it works great, and that is made to be even more true when you get to see Brumevale. The lighting on these buildings and how it displays on the screen looks gorgeous. I will admit, similar to the preview, I had to put the game on performance mode to go to 60 FPS. Otherwise, it stuck itself on 40 FPS in a graphical mode. I was playing on my Steam Deck and not my PC. It looks great and fits well on the Steam Deck. If you want a handheld game to play and enjoy, it is this one!
The Bad
The polygonal art direction and the perspective of ILA: A Frosty Glide are great, but they can also hamper how well you play the game. I never had trouble with controlling ILA in the game, but the perspective can be deceptive. I will try to slam on the ground, thinking I am close or right above where I need to be, and then when the shadow follows me, I realize I am still pretty off. This makes it worse when there is no shadow to follow, and you have to make judgments from a side perspective.
The puzzles are pretty intuitive in the directions you need to go and where you need to find pieces to solve these puzzles. There are a few, though, that make it less obvious, and it can be frustrating trying to go around in circles trying to find a certain solution. Exploration is the name of the game, but it can be annoying when you are forced to explore to figure out the main objectives. I want to explore because I want to explore, not because I am forced to explore.
The Verdict
Overall ILA: A Frosty Glide is a good time. Riding your broom like a skateboard, sticking it into ice edges to give yourself more air, and just exploring this world feels satisfying. Sure, there are some nitpicks I have with the perspective shifts and figuring out some of the trickier puzzles, but I enjoyed my time with the game. If you want a cozy exploration and platforming game, this is a solid option.
ILA: A Frosty Glide will launch on October 20th, 2025, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Review Disclosure Statement: ILA: A Frosty Glide was provided to us by First Break Labs for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy.
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Summary
ILA: A Frosty Glide delivers on what is a whimsical experience, skating on a broom, and finding a cat. It is a game that you just want to keep gliding around.
Pros
- Very fun to play
- Exploring the world and learning the characters is great
- Uses the art scenes well
Cons
- Perspective shifts can ruin your mood
- Chasing waterfalls for the hidden main objective puzzle pieces
