Archaeogem

pertty also very short!

I wish I could rate this positively and 2/3 levels in (no, I'm not counting prologue and epilogue which both last 5 minutes combined), I was going to even though I didn't consider it a masterpiece or anything, then the last level came and all the issues with the game became very clear. First and foremost, you can't avoid comparing a game like this to Celeste which is probably the absolute best game in the genre. While it innovates in some ways and distances itself from Celeste in a good way, not all that's different in this is a positive, starting from the very stiff controls and the game's physics often working in ways that are counterintuitive (especially the yellow flowers). The same could be said about some spots where the physics do work according to what reality teaches you but not the way you would expect in a game of this kind (the water mostly, which also was the most unnecessary thing to include: "This game needs a water level" said no one ever). Then we've got the art style which is extremely derivative and so incredibly confusing in all ways possible. More often than not you find yourself confusing background and foreground, platforms to stand on and spikes. It is so excessively confusing and for no reason. Lastly the difficulty is an issue in and of itself, not because it's too high or anything but because the checkpoint system is made in such a way that most time you really have to only complete a single jump before getting a new spawnpoint so, even though the areas look difficult, it's mostly just a question of repeating single jumps over and over again instead of actually mastering the rooms. This system also has the consequence that actual major checkpoints do not exist so you end up having to start the whole level over if you miss even just one of the gems (which are also not hinted to in any way, which I can appreciate if it's not such a struggle to collect them, but since you do have to go through everything again, they could have at least helped you out with them). Also there's no story or anything really? It's just underwhelming. A real pity cause the potential is there but the fundamentals are lacking to say the least. It just doesn't feel good to play and that can't be the takeaway from a precision platformer