Ghrian

Fiquei curioso quando vi que o outro jogo dos criadores de Burggeist tinha só 4 reviews e 3 eram negativas. Toda a mecânica do fogo era bem interessante, funcionava como eu esperava na maioria dos momentos, mas precisava de um pouco de planejamento pra usar de perto, de longe era bem mais tranquilo. Um ponto negativo bem forte é esse pulo assustador que faz até o bubsy tremer de medo, todo esquisito e metade das minhas mortes foram falta de cooperação do pulo "duplo" O enredo deixa muita coisa pra sua interpretação, mas não é tão central, apesar de ser interessante. Não é um puta jogão, mas por ser baratinho e parecer mais um experimento, eu acho que vale a pena.

I picked this game up on the strength of the same dev's newer game, Burggeist. I'm marking the game as recommended in spite of my reservations about it because it IS very well done in some aspects even though it has some serious issues. [h1]The Game[/h1] The game itself is a platform puzzler on rails; although it is 3D you are unable to control the camera and can only move forward and backward along a predefined line. There is no side-to-side motion. The primary puzzle mechanism is the use of a thrown light emitting stone, which is the only action available other than jumping, combined with platforming in order to pass obstacles and enemies in order to progress. There are a lot of things about it that make it clear it's a first effort at real game development, but it is also clearly a first game from a developer with a well developed aesthetic and unique ideas. [h1]The Bad[/h1] Top of the list has to be the controls. They are unreliable at best. Sometimes you will bump the stick to change directions and you do, sometimes you will bump the stick the same amount to change directions and will take a full step in that direction instead. Sometimes when you jump against a ledge you will mantle up it, sometimes when you jump at the same ledge you will not. Sometimes when you wall jump you will rebound as you expect to the full expected height, sometimes when you wall jump (even in the same place) you will not go as high as you expect. Sometimes you can throw your light while moving forward, sometimes you can't, and if this is an intended aspect of the gameplay there is no indication where this function works and where it doesn't. All of this together means you will be fighting the controls as much as the puzzles which is bad news for a game that uses platforming as a major aspect of its gameplay and can make some of the later sequences [i]extremely[/i] frustrating and unforgiving. The fixed camera/on-rails gameplay is a stylistic choice, but is a problem for navigation. It isn't always clear as you move forward when you will turn a corner and when you won't, this sometimes leads to expected turns that don't happen and you fall into a pit instead of making the jump. [h1]The Good[/h1] The game's setting is familiar in a dark-souls-ey way but also very unique. As you move through the game you see scenery around you and in the background that imply backstory and create setting. It is the absolute epitome of "show don't tell" storytelling. The very intentionally sparse soundscape also contributes to this story telling by setting. This isn't a case of "I only have these sound assets so that's all I'll use", it is very clear that the dev had a fully formed concept in mind when creating this world and did an excellent job of communicating it without actually [i]saying[/i] anything which is very impressive. Because of this excellently done story telling by setting I wanted to explore, I wanted to be able to check out the small side passages you walk past but you can't because you are on a rail. I wanted to wander around the docks, the mountain paths, the broken down castles. I wanted to move the camera around to get a better look at the buildings and ruins and naturescapes all around you, to get an even better idea about the implied world and story, but you can't because the camera is fixed. [h1]Conclusions[/h1] This is a deeply flawed game that I got extremely frustrated with at points because of the control issues and camera choice. But I still enjoyed it. The PS1-esque graphics and empty-world setting are clearly close to the dev's heart given that they continue in their next game, Burggeist (which I highly recommend!), and it is fascinating to see their progression in skill between the two games while also following the same aesthetic direction. The gameplay, when everything worked, was fun which only made the moments when it [i]didn't[/i] even more frustrating. But honestly, I can forgive a lot of that given that this is clearly a first game, and given the clear effort and love the dev put into it. If you've tried Burggeist (you should!) and enjoyed it then this is worth picking up not only because it's only $3 and goes to support the talented dev but also because it is, in its simple and not infrequently broken way, a good game and it's an experience worth having. You'll spend $4 and two hours on it and get a glimpse at the creative progression of the dev, and to me that's worth it.

1/3 of your time spent on this game will be spent on one screen. The music on the title screen is decent, but for literally the rest of the game there is no music. Not to mention the mindnumbing, brain tumor causing difficulty spike because of the jumping mechanic. Would not kill myslef to again.

I enjoyed Ghrian overall, but it's a short and very rough game which definitely is not going to appeal to everyone. The biggest issue by far is the platforming controls. They're stiff and clunky and the wall jump/ledge grab in particular often does not work properly. Most of the deaths were either directly or indirectly caused by the character failing to properly pull himself up onto a ledge and it can get frustrating, especially in the later areas. Thankfully, the game rarely demands more than extremely basic platforming, but Ghrian is definitely not a game I can recommend for its gameplay. What I do recommend this game for is its atmosphere. While I wouldn't go as far as to call Ghrian a walking simulator, it does have long stretches of walking through environments without any danger and the world is great to look at. This is a cinematic platformer and most encounters serve as setpieces with some simple puzzles and a minor amount of platforming. The bad controls do get in the way of things at times and will likely be a dealbreaker for many, but it has enough interesting moments that I was able to enjoy it based on its merits as an atmospheric short story. If you're looking for a game which has both atmosphere and great gameplay, I strongly recommend checking out the developer's other game, Burggeist.