Arabel

👍

The game goes on sale for one buck or less, 8 dollars is quite steep for a still very amateurish, extremely short, simple game. The issues are plenty, and for any price above 1USD I probably would've given this a negative review. The runtime is less than an hour, I was thoroughly disappointed that exploring the world didn't really give me anything, the views are really nice, but you don't find any secret areas or anything like that. The ending choice alters the MC's color palette, no change to the ending as far as I can tell. The gameplay is so barebones it almost feels wrong, I can't even tell how checkpoints work, because I never fell in combat, the platforming is jank, but it is not a big focus, for the most part you run around and spam RMB at a few interactables. The game introduces a slide and air dash, and besides trying to break out of bounds, I'm not sure it's ever used beyond the tutorial. The platforming mechanic that was used the most was rail grinding, sometimes you jump from one to another, sometimes you spam RMB at a barricade blocking your way. Combat boils down to - you guessed it, shooting enemy weak point with RMB, after which you slash the staggered enemy with the same 3xLMB combo, there is a parry, I think it just nullifies damage, I only ever used it for the last boss. There are two aerial attacks, which I don't think I ever got to use, as staggering the enemy was incentivized in the tutorial, and seemed the most optimal. The story is uhh..... I think there is one? I know the dev is fr*nch, but his translator must have been a gaslighter, cause the text barely makes any sense, I have no idea what the hell these characters are saying, this is a gargantuan ESL fumble, even The Citadel's goofy translation didn't feel as weird and borderline nonsensical as this. Big shoutout to the game's technical aspect, if TotalBiscuit was still here to see the complete absence of a settings menu, he would probably flip his ♥♥♥♥. I maintained frames at least, but I have no idea what resolution I was even playing in, the volume slider? Nonexistent. I know it's trying to be minimalistic, but this might be taking it a bit too far. Sound is a little lacking, but the OST is nice, it helps the atmosphere quite a bit, ambitent tracks sounded much better than combat music imo. The visuals is where most of the game is at, it feels somewhat nier inspired, but in mostly greyscale, kinda like NaissanceE. It was nice to look at, but not that impressive overall, at the end f it, there was neither texture-work, nor a massive model / shape variety. So while the dev wanted to convey a vibe through his own game, and he seems to have achieved what he more or less wanted, I don't think it's as good of a visual experience as NaissanceE was, and that game is literally free. Still happy for the guy. Also the jank I mentioned before messes with the presentation - the camera gets stuck behind objects, or snaps violently on stairs, etc etc. Overall, it could've been something cool, maybe if the story was translated properly I would've been more invested, once again - if it's any more expensive than a dollar, then I don't think it's worth it, even for the vibe.

Despite the fact that there is combat, this is a short visual experience that everyone can finish. The plot revolves around a young female knight who falls down a hole and must now find her way back. However, because the hole is mysterious and weird, she will see numerous things that don't exactly fit into a dark cave, such as subway trains and rail tracks. Controls are decent and typical for a third-person action game. In addition to basic movement, you can jump, slide, or dash, as well as use two attacks. The first is a simple sword attack, and the second is a ranged assault that is actually your main attack becasue it's used so much more. Aside from destroying things that are immune to the sword, it also allows you to defeat enemies and their shields. Once they are incapacitated, you can the sword to execute the finishing blow. The only limitation is that ranged attacks take a few moments to recharge. Most enemies can be fully ignored, so you don't have to kill everyone in your path. There's no reward for this or exploring. The game is short and focuses on atmosphere and providing an experience. Enemies are easy to defeat and explode into bright flowers. This enhances the images because, although beginning in a dark area, you eventually emerge outside. The world remains primarily black and white, but you will be able to see many more details. Most crucial are the red lights that indicate where to go next. Death is never a problem. Outside of combat, your health is constantly replenished, and if you die or fall into a hole, you will drop from the sky near a checkpoint. Even bosses are never a problem because you respawn right in the middle of a fight and can continue right where you left off. There are no collectibles or achievements.

few bugs but still a great short game...

Pros: - A really nice and unique art style - Great animations overall, though a bit more polishing would’ve made them even better - The music fits the art style well and adds a lot to the immersion - I really liked the monster and character designs - The sound effect for the ranged attack (RMB) is satisfying - Thanks to the short playtime, the game doesn’t feel repetitive Cons: The game could’ve used more overall polishing - I couldn’t find options to adjust sound volume or mouse sensitivity (might’ve missed it, but it made things a bit harder since I prefer lower sensitivity) - Some map boundaries felt intrusive — invisible walls in places where it felt like you should be able to move a bit further - After falling off the edge post–final boss, I respawned outside the arena and couldn’t re-enter due to invisible walls (I did manage to find a workaround, though) Combat is decent but a bit rough: - Ranged attack only works when aiming at nearby objects/enemies, which felt limiting - Melee feels slightly clunky, but it got the job done Overall: I’d say it’s definitely worth picking up. It’s a short experience, but I enjoyed my time with it. With a bit more polish, it could’ve been even better. I’m curious to see what the developers do next.

Arabel is a sort of experimental game, running for about an hour, wearing its inspirations on its sleeve rather proudly. There's very minimal story to it, said story is also pretty much inconsequential to everything going on. The highlight of the game is most probably its extremely atmospheric world design complemented with a wonderful soundtrack. Tha said, the movement also deserves some recognition, jank aside, the lost knight controls fairly well. The rail grinding, floating and air dashing go a long way ensuring the game feels smooth. The combat on the other hand is a bit messy. There's a shooting element that provides enemy downtime to go in and do some damage, but the actual combat feels a bit too floaty and weighted at the same time. Boss fights (or at least the few that are in the game) boil down to getting the enemy to go down and hoping that the player is positioned properly for the special attack to actually hit. There doesn't seem to be a penalty for dying either, so the combat is more of a showpiece than anything. The biggest issue the game has is its iffy controller support. There is some and it feels great to play with, but the camera sensitivity is so high that it makes the game near impossible to enjoy. I imagine external fixes could solve this issue, but I opted to just go with KBM. So then what? The game is almost always on sale and for the price it goes for, you really cannot go wrong. Short as it is, it's very ambitious and the love and care put into the game shows brightly throughout its Drakengard 3/NieR Automata inspired jank.

Короткое приключение. Стильный минимализм. Душевно. Понравилась музыка и особенно композиция в титрах. Два норм босса. После первого прохождения можно начать игру с любого уровня (например с последнего) и сделать альтернативный выбор. Да. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3383893427