Pilfer: Story of Light

I hit repeated collision bugs and bugs when the camera is put in a forced perspective. So many bugs in the first 30 minutes, it makes it feel like baby's first Unity project. Meanwhile it also has a few frame drops on the Steam Deck. Refund requested. Just play the original Super Mario Galaxy games for a much better experience, or Sapo 3D for an indie platformer.

I played this for 20 minutes on a whim and decided to check out the reviews. I truly don't know if everyone else here played the same game I did. The character movement is slow and slippery which means the entire game feels like you're controlling a dump truck on ice, the music isn't great, and the visuals are very primitive even for an indie game. Look, it's a cute game and I have different standards for AAA games compared to indies - but the quality of the mechanics does not meet the price tag nor does it excuse the fact that controlling your character and moving around simply isn't fun. There are a ton of little nitpicks that show the dev wasn't willing to go the extra mile for a polished experience: for instance, tutorial tips are hardcoded to the default controls rather than simply inserting whatever glyph you may have bound an action to in the options menu. If this were something made during a game jam and upgraded for a full release then I'd be sympathetic, but the asking price is way too high. I bought it at 70% off and I feel like I paid too much.

I've been sleeping on such a gem of a game for FAR too long. Mario 3d world, a splash of Mario galaxy, indie spice, and movement tech bundled up in an adorable package of a lil raccoon? I was sold from the start. This game doesn't hide that it's influenced at all either, it opens with a storybook and musicbox before bringing you to the hub which has an orchestra. Additionally, it fills out more and more with colourful characters as you visit and complete different worlds! The movement takes a bit of getting used to but once you learn that the dive resets built up momentum and is better used as a precision tool where the slide [b]is[/b] your momentum building tool, a lot more of the game's shortcuts open up. If you like cute 3d platformers in the style of Mario 3d world I [i] HIGHLY [/i] suggest giving this gem a try. My only gripe is the lack of OST anywhere for me to listen to, I want it so bad.

Imagine a cheap knockoff of Super Mario Galaxy you bought off Temu, and you have this game. The game doesn't even try to be original at times, like how the second world is beehive-themed... I can't see any reason to play this over Super Mario Galaxy. The physics and everything else just feel so cheap and dull.

Can't wait for Pilfer 2: Tale of Two where Pilfer meets his female counterpart.

Overallp, this game was genuinly suprisingly good and definitively reminded me of mario galaxy alot ! my main issue with it is how a lot of the lvl feels too "samy" in deisgn and the some movement could feel a bit more responsive (mainly sound-wise) , otherwise its worth it

[H1][b]Pilfer: Story of Light[/b][/h1] [H1][b]Time Played:[/b][/h1] 11.3 Hours (At least 4 of these were in the last two challenges, though :|) [H1][b]Last Played:[/b][/h1] 21st of September, 2025 (Earth, Wind, and Fire Day) Admittedly, I was expecting this to be a breezy, fun, romp, and while I did get that for some of the game, the experience both delughted...and infuriated. [H1][b]Yay:[/b][/h1] + I love how nonchalant the wisp was about the whole “friends trapped in crystals” line. No urgency, just, as matter-of-fact as “sunny skies today” + Gets up and running quickly with minimal cutscenes. + Those that were present reminded me of Kirby 64 + Hub World + Several of my favourite level archetypes are represented. + ...and the art is quite charming to me. + One of the later worlds was absolutely gorgeous to me. + Seeing the hub world change as you beat levels was also very interesting. + Appearance customisation. + Not all bosses were a “Wait until you can damage it 3 times” affair. + Lumi can light various torches, and other sconces. This serves no purpose outside of personal amusement, but amused, I was. + While initially heavily-derivative of the 3D Mario games, the latter sections introduced some things I don't remember from that series. + Secret surprise after beating the game [H1][b]Meh:[/b][/h1] ~ No option to lock the camera behind you, and have it rotate with your character. ~ Sound mixing is not the best. ~ The last option in the Graphics tab is off-screen, but I find the lack of being able to see it more amusing than frustrating. ~ As stated above, the game is derivative of the 3D Mario games, but as none of those are on Steam, that means this is as close as you can get. ~ I Sometimes could not use Lumi/attack immediately after landing, needing to jump dash to use them again. ~ You need to hold the direction away from the wall to jump, meaning you can't just tap A to do so. ~ Slides are incredibly slow, making jump dashing the better controlling, faster option. [H1][b]Nay:[/b][/h1] - Given the labelling of them as “Challenges” rather than “Tutorials” I assumed they were supposed to be beaten after the game. This is not the case, and they teach you moves that are not taught elsewhere. Thus, I had to figure out they were able to be done when watching a video of someone getting the “Flightless” achievement. - You also unlock these challenges via optional pages hidden in the levels. Completionists would likely already have them, but if you only care about achievements, of which none are present for grabbing all of said item, you'll probably think Flightless impossible, as it is without those moves... - No indication the globe-created environments are timed until you fail one. - They also don't give you a timer in any way, or it was otherwise too quiet to hear. No flashing/colour changing to indicate this, either. - What are supposed to be high-impact ground pounds have neither weight, nor impact behind them, and are missing a lead-up. You do fall slightly faster, but that's it. - Hard to gauge where you are, due to the shadow beneath you being quite small, and not visible on some things. - When you see the “Lumi can be launched at this” indicator, they do not lock onto it, meaning you can miss, which causes undue frustration. - You also have a cool down, so when you miss something due to being slightly off, you can't immediately dive back on. - No indication whatsoever you're supposed to use Lumi to make platforms solid in one of the worlds, making the activation criteria stumbled upon, rather than told, or figured out. - Sometimes, jumping on rail will see you sliding back to where you just came from, rather than forward. - While some ledge climb is present, it's very inconsistent, and you sometimes need to jump at a wall, jump off it, turn around mid-air, double jump, then dive atop it fort things that look like they could be mantled. - You get stunned on taking damage, so invincibility frames are almost up before you can even move, leading to double damage. - Final boss, and ending was a total anti-climax to me, and ending, contrived. - My coin count, which I didn't spend a single coin of, as I was waiting for the post-game to do so, resets after beating the game - This, little did I know, was the prelude to the game becoming absolutely unplayable. Challenge 3 is all about B-hopping, however, the first real challenge of said stage requires momentum that is completely impossible to build. Sure you can get to the end by crouch walking across the side-face of the spikes... - ...but once that obstacle is exploited past, you figure out how wildly-inconsistent slide jumping is, because the same inputs at the same place suddenly see you sometimes losing all momentum for no reason at all, much less a good one. Thankfully, lowering things to 30 FPS, made the momentum from dashes seem greater. Challenge 4 though, was almost-impossible, and my getting through it seemed like dumb luck more than skill. - As such, these are examples of the game demanding precision the game does not give you. - The difficulty spike here also betrays the tone of the game. - Also, this is your reward for grabbing all the pages: pain, suffering, seemingly-untested levels, and bad design. [H1][b]Verdict:[/b][/h1] Were it not for the end challenges, I would likely have recommended this, and while I still do to non-completionists, if you must get all achievements, and grab every item, stay as far away as possible. As I am one of those people, I cannot give this a thumbs up, pained though I may be. In spite of that, though, I am still very much avoiding placing this in the negative categories as a result of the good. [H1][b]Placed in:[/b][/h1] 3: Merit-Mixed

Adorei o jogo!!! Ele tem claras referencias em ao Mario Galaxy, aposto que ele deve ter tentado fazer os planetas em algum prototipo. A progressão dele é aquilo colecione X itens para pode desbloquear a fase Y, um tipo de progressão que gosto muito. Cada fase apresenta um novo desafio e praticamente todos interessantes, só teve um desafio que achei chato, o de se equilibrar em um tronco boiando. As lutas contra chefes são ok, o combate nesse jogo é nada demais, mais os momentos de plataforma são ótimos. Talvez vc estranhe a lentidão do personagem de inicio, mais com o tempo vc se acostuma e não faz falta o a pouca velocidade dele. Agora um problema serio do jogo é que em vários momentos vc tem que acerta uns objetos com seu ataque, o jogo tem auto mira, só que ela me deixou na mão várias vezes. Excelente jogo, parece que esse desenvolvedor já fez jogos semelhantes vou seguir ele agora.

Ich habe kein Problem mit Spielen, deren Entwickler wenige finanzielle Mittel hatten. ... Aber die Grafik sollte zumindest nicht so aussehen, als sei es eine sehr frühe Testversion. Man wird in einen Kasten hineingeworfen - ohne Hintergrund, keine Büsche oder Bäume... Es muss nach etwas aussehen - inspirierend, einzigartig, liebevoll. Aber ich sehe schon am Anfang nur geklautes. Die Eule ist zu ähnlich wie die von Ori and the blind forest. Alles andere ist zu stark an Super Mario Galaxy inspiriert worden. Bin selbst Künstler, Inspiration ist ok, solange man etwas eigenes draus macht. Das hier ist nichts "eigenes". Mir fehlt die Musik bei Cutscenes und Gesprächen. Die Musik ist ansonsten auch sehr schüchtern - wohl nicht von Profis. Direkt am Anfang (2 Minuten im Spiel) bekam ich einen Sprung nicht hin. Doppelsprung, ganz präzise, dann noch einen "Wisch" in der Luft machen mit RT - hat mir niemand erklärt, bis ich es herausgefunden hatte. Solche Sprünge sollten nicht sofort am Anfang kommen! Und ich bin eigentlich gut in Plattformer. Aber die Steuerung fühlt sich nicht schön an. Ich breche so gut wie nie Spiele ab, aber das hier kann/will ich nicht spielen.

Pilfer is a very considerate little platformer. For example, in one section they want to do a little challenge where you collect 40 stars to unlock a door. In many similar games, there would be exactly 40 of these, here there are some extra so that you don't have that moment of trying to track down the LAST ONE and ruin your flow. While the game has a number of little polish gaps, I think it's a thoughtful and considered game clearly made by people with a real eye for what makes a platformer good. I enjoyed it immensely as it all just a good solid platformer. Will it rock your world? Is it a must play to study if you make your own? No, but it's good fun with a lot of heart. Keep at it!