Marvin's Mittens

[quote]Follow my Curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41363546-Fruit-N-Doggie-Reviews/]Fruit N Doggie Reviews,[/url] so you can be updated whenever I post a new review.[/quote] [h1]Overall Rating - Painfully Bad ★☆☆☆☆[/h1] [h1]First Impressions[/h1] Even though we've passed by the holiday season and started a new year, as I looked through my games, Marvin's Mittens (MM) seemed a fitting choice for this time. Surely it had something to do with the winter season. Ironic that I'd be writing my review during the snowstorm that hit much of the USA so hard during January 2026. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] There isn't really much to do in this title. As you go from one area to the next, you'll find a wild animal to sketch, and gather snowflakes. In this game, the snowflakes are scattered around abundantly, sort of like gold coins in a Mario title, except each one makes a minimal improvement to his jump height. After gathering twenty or so, you'll notice that you're jumping higher than before, but you really have to get several before it makes enough difference to reach the taller, out of reach spots. It's not a bad gimmick, and with the game's focus on a family friendly experience, is probably about the most you could do using such a system. However, compared to platformers with branching pathways and secrets, returning to earlier areas for more snowflakes almost feels like a chore, “Oh wow, where can I go now? Oh, I can just get those snowflakes on that one platform. Neat.” Since it's both one of the only collectibles, and a power-up, it becomes a necessity to find them, or else you lack jump height. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3655201009 [h1]Controls[/h1] This might be somewhat intentional, but as you gather more snowflakes and increase your jump height, it starts feeling floaty. Instead of being the kind of game where you have tight, snappy platforming, the character lingers in the air. For someone used to the former, aiming for lingering snowflakes feels a bit tricky, but the controls were overall decent. It handled on my controller well enough. [h1]Story[/h1] Something is stealing one mitten from several people, instead of just making a complete pair and wearing them like a normal thief. Wouldn't it be better to make one person a bit uncomfortable instead of being a nuisance to several? I can't believe thieves would be so inconsiderate like that. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3655200604 [h1]Visuals[/h1] Aside from the gameplay, this is the area I'm most disappointed by in this release. I think you could reasonably compare it to how certain children's books look, but for me I find the images flat and lacking in detail. Much of the environment is composed of rocks, trees, and snow, but there's no sense of life or enchantment, despite being shown from the perspective of a child playing outside. When so much more could have been done, what we have by contrast is both beyond what's feasible, yet not in an incredible or whimsical way. Also, Marvin's frames of animation look pretty weird, instead of smooth or natural. [h1]Sound Design[/h1] Much to my surprise, each unique location in the game has its own song, which isn't a bad inclusion for areas that change with every screen transition, and feel fairly similar due to all of the snow everywhere. Some of the songs have a more somber tone to them, which isn't out of place as you walk through otherwise still, quiet areas. Others have an upbeat, nearly jolly nature, almost inspiring enough to make one get up and go out into the cold themselves. I actually enjoy the cold, so if it weren't for sheer laziness, I might almost have gotten up and done so. Admittedly though, you'll come to recognize the build-up notes to your mom calling you back in, and have a bad association with that. There were a few sound effects I found kind of annoying, such as when you get on and off of your sled. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3655201276 [h1]Pros[/h1] 🌟 The game is kind of cute. 🌟 It's family friendly. [h1]Cons[/h1] ❌ Considering the limited story or things to interact with, I didn't understand the idea behind theoretical elf lore. It didn't really amount to anything, and could have been skipped entirely. ❌ While playing, your mother abruptly ends each session calling you inside the house. This means you always have to start back over at the beginning, with no quick trip system in place. ❌ Gathering each snowflake feels more like a chore than a fun objective. [h1]Tips[/h1] 🔍 Seemingly, your mom won't call for you to return if you progress through areas quickly enough. It only happened whenever I stayed in one area for too long, but I'm not 100% positive how it works. 🔍 This is not a platformer that expects you to make crazy jumps. If something is too far to reach, you have to get more snowflakes from somewhere else first. [h1]Final Thoughts[/h1] Honestly, I think MM is incredibly boring, and didn't find the artwork compelling enough to feel any sense of wonder. That's a bit ironic, since I think winter is a great season to capture the splendor of nature, as the world gets covered in a blanket of dazzling white snow. You even play as a little boy going out and having fun, but that hardly matters when the platforming involved is so basic and drab. Plus, your mom disrupting the fun is a real buzzkill. For those who'd argue this grounds the game in reality, I'm a small boy walking miles away from home in the snow, helping out elves who make giant pots of hot cocoa, while collecting snowflakes that give me mad hops. There's many downsides to playing in the snow that could be included as well, but thankfully aren't touched upon. It's a video game, and I don't need an arbitrary timer limiting how much progress I can make each attempt. Even if I'd played this game when I was this kids' age, I don't think I'd have liked it that much, so I don't recommend MM. [table] [tr] [th]PC Specs[/th] [th]Performance[/th] [/tr] [tr] [td]Ryzen 2700 RTX 2070 16GB RAM ADATA SSD 1920x1080 [/td] [td]The game ran without incident on default settings. 💖 - MM is healthy [/td] [/tr] [/table]