I have been mulling over how to try and pitch this game to people. I haven't written a review in a long time because it often seems pointless, but for this game I wanted to because it seems largely forgotten, and I think a lot of people might be missing out on something they'd really enjoy.
I'm not going to do an, "In this game you XYZ," here. The draws of this game are the music, which is excellent, the art design, which is striking, and the story, which is almost certainly not whatever you think it is. But if you want mechanics: It's a puzzle platformer. The controls are slightly looser than I would like, and there are odd glitches. Nothing gamebreaking, usually graphical, but the entire project feels a little unpolished. I would wager the game is 85-90% of what it was intended to be originally. Close, but fumbling the final stair. There were two occasions where poor checkpoint placement left me redoing parts I had already proved myself capable of which obviously was very frustrating, despite most of the game being pitched at an easy-to-moderate difficulty level.
Which is a shame because this game is brilliant. When I worry about that missing extra work, it's only because I would gladly play an entire 20-hour campaign of this. It's gorgeous in spite of any graphical hiccups because the art design is so beautiful and focused and inventive. Each world feels different and every single character has their own charm and personality from the moment you see them. The colours are vibrant and the choreography of the cutscenes is so evocative that for the first time I thought about the choreography in a game's cutscenes. But it really is! there is not a moment where characters have a stiff, headshot-to-headshot dialogue; they move and emote as if this really were happening on stage. There are a lot of little touches that show that this project came from people who really loved it, like the little animation that plays when you fall from a great height or the NPCs and fauna that inhabit the world seemingly to do nothing but witness you as you wander by.
And the music? Get out if you're even asking that. Of course it's amazing. There is never simply a backing track; everything is always building and racing with a level of control that many AAA titles would die for. The songs do not always have perfect English lyrics but they are all arranged artfully and honestly combined with the otherworldly character design the slightly-off script kinda works for me? The performances do a lot to sell it, though I can't say I know who even half of these people are. But they can certainly sing, which is nice. If nothing else, the music is well worth the price of omission, and it's something I can see myself replaying the game for years down the line.
This game has Choices and Branching Endings and honestly it handles them better than most and with a clever style. I do not want to spoil anything because again I just want people to try this game out, but if you are sick of binary easy good/evil choices and especially if you are any kind of creator I recommend giving this a look. It has given me a different perspective on both creating and appreciating art, and ultimately that's the reason I am writing this review and the highest praise I can offer: This game made me think and I hope it can do that for others.
And it's £4, including the soundtrack. That's worth a go, yeah?
