This game is a lot of fun! The visuals are very charming and I really love the art style. It has a very relaxing feel to it, encouraging you to take your time with the game. I originally thought it was going to play like 3D platformers similar to Super Mario 64, but as I got deeper, I found it to instead be more like the dungeons of early 3D Zelda games. Essentially, there's a heavy focus on puzzles. You have to take a look at your surroundings, gather information and see what you can do to proceed. There are also optional collectibles you can find as well.
The story is simple and told without dialogue. The gibberish that characters speak is enough to convey what's going on. There aren't too many other NPC's, and aside from an end boss, there are no enemies in the game. It makes for a very lonely atmosphere, but in the context of the game, it works perfectly. I would describe it as somewhat melancholy yet uplifting. Like enjoying the relaxing ambience of a rainy day.
For an early access title, it has a very solid foundation to it and is relatively bug free. It has a well-established baseline and does a great job of introducing you to the different states of matter the player can take: water, ice, cloud and mud forms. Each state of matter has a number of creative uses. Water form allows you to double jump with a generous horizontal dash. Mud form allows you to turn into a rolling ball and to weigh down physics-based obstacles. Ice form allows you to create your own platforms and slow down time. While cloud form can leap very great distances and pass through metal gratings.
The environments you explore are open and sprawling. Technically, there are only two levels at the moment (three if counting the optional time trial challenge), but these levels are very massive with lots to do. There are a lot of moving pieces and each puzzle you solve will organically lead to the next. The game does a great job of teaching you how to play it. It doesn't feel too overwhelming, even with all the possible utilities the states of matter can do. It took me about three hours to go through the game, though I imagine you could get through it much faster if you knew what you were doing.
One of my favorite areas of the game was the pipe room. Here, the game really takes advantage of mud form's rolling physics where you travel from pipe to pipe, pressing buttons to unlock pathways. It definitely felt like you were part of a Rube Goldberg machine which I found very engaging. It was very satisfying going through all the right pipes and finishing off at the end having made progress with the puzzles.
The music is a soft ambience throughout, mostly consisting of atmospheric pads. It is quite relaxing to listen to though I do wish some parts of it had a fuller sound to it. Additionally, I wish there were more sound effects, particularly in the boss fight at the end. However, I don't find it to be a major detractor, especially considering this game is still in active development. The audio is still very strong overall. Even little things like the menu sounds being a kalimba that changes tones depending on which option you select add nice little touches that make the experience more immersive.
I don't have too many others complaints aside from some very minor hiccups that could very easily be smoothed out in the final release. Particularly, the controls for cloud form felt a little iffy in that you couldn't see where you were landing while you were flying around. A lot of my deaths during a time trial segment felt a little unfair. Thankfully, the penalty for failing is not harsh at all, and you can easily retry it as many times as you like. At no point in my experience did I ever get genuinely frustrated. While I did get stuck a few times in some of the puzzles, I managed to figure them out with enough time.
Overall, great presentation with tons of potential to truly become an indie hidden gem once it is out of early access. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished the game.
