Summary: I highly recommend this game. Despite its flaws, it’s absolutely worth your time and money. Get the deluxe version for the extended soundtrack.
I’m going to start with the cons:
* The camera actively hates you. You’ll be in the middle of a nice gliding jump, and the camera will sometimes swing wildly off to the side, changing your direction of travel and making you fall to your death. This is the cause of most of the complaints about bad controls in the game. A controller is highly recommended.
* The game is buggy. It runs well, but there are occasional instances where you will fall through walls, get stuck on gears, or other issues that force you to reload. The game auto-saves on a regular basis, so it’s not too much of an issue, but there were a couple times that I got annoyed.
* Level design isn’t straightforward. There are a lot of “Where do I go” and “What do I do” moments. Act I is very fog-filled, contributing a lot to this. (Though I do find this a bit of a positive too, see below).
Now on to the Pros:
* The obvious one… the music. The music in this game is FANTASTIC! The game story, tutorial included, is all told in song. In between important plot points, there is a starkly contrasting near silence that I found very immersive. It really sells the idea of a world built and defended by music that has fallen into neglect and disrepair.
* As I just mentioned: Immersion. You are given a brief summary of key plot characters and world events, then dumped into the game. The foggy visuals, strange winding pathways, and lack of real platforming world music in Act I (mentioned above) made me unconsciously lean toward the screen and listen closely for subtle background noises. I found myself wanting to know more about the world and the creatures within it. I felt sorry for taking the Karma from a non-existent lizard thing, and any game that can pull that off is doing something right.
* Graphics. The game is colorful, the character design is interesting, and the world elements all fit together well. The game runs smoothly, both in and out of cutscenes. Your game decisions have a noticeable effect on the world around you. For example, extracting Karma from the flowers that provide light will create darkness, as well as an encroaching purple fog that really hampers navigation.
* The story. It’s a great concept. The game tells you just enough to let you know what’s going on, and lets you fill in the details for yourself. It creates a sense of mystery, and I’ve found myself musing over elements of the world even after I’ve stopped playing.
Overall, the game has its flaws and every now and then one will smack you in the face to make itself known. But it will take more than a wonky control scheme and an occasional bug to stop me from recommending this... the music alone is worth the price of admission. The rest of the game is pretty, and is a fun way of adding to the story. If more acts are ever released, I’ll be picking them up.
