Princess of the Water Lilies

definitely recommended

[h2]A Different Kind of Fairytale[/h2] Princess of the Water Lilies looks like a cosy puzzle-platformer at first, but it doesn’t stay calm for long. The opening is soft and sweet — a small cat rescued by frogs and welcomed into their forest home — but within minutes (11, to be exact), you’re thrown into your first boss fight. The shift is sharp, fast, and surprisingly tense. [h3]Highlights[/h3] 💚Beautiful hand-drawn world. 💚A clear story told without text, easy to follow in any language. 💚Emotional moments that land, especially when mechanical creatures return to their true forms. 💚Atmospheric music that builds tension without overwhelming the scene. 💚Creative platforming ideas and magical touches like the kitten’s purr affecting the environment. [h3]Improvements Wishlist[/h3] ✨A clearer description on the store page about the actual difficulty level (game is tagged casual, and I wouldn't consider it a casual game). ✨More consistent checkpoint placement to reduce repeat frustration. ✨Better visual clarity during some boss fights. ✨A gentle content warning for scenes involving animal distress. The story works well without any written dialogue. Animations and symbols do the talking, and it’s easy to follow, no matter your language. There’s a strong emotional thread too — especially the way mechanical enemies return to their true animal form after each fight. It adds a hopeful touch to moments that would otherwise feel intense. The challenge, though, is higher than expected. You move at one speed, the incoming attacks come fast, and even the smallest bump sends you back to a checkpoint. The early boss fights set a tough pace, and for casual platform fans like me, the deaths add up fast (I don't want to know my total). Players with more experience will likely move through the game quicker, but the difficulty spikes are still sharp. I’ve written a [url=https://www.screenhype.co.uk/princess-of-the-water-lilies-review-a-gentle-tale-wrapped-around-a-tough-challenge/]full review[/url] if you want a detailed breakdown. 💚

I beat the game today, and even though it’s not the kind of thing I usually play, it hooked me almost immediately. The backgrounds are ridiculously cute, and the music has this soft, enchanting vibe that sneaks up on you. At first, everything feels cozy and harmless, right up until the boss fights crash the party. The difficulty ramps up significantly when reaching the boss fights, giving it a challenging and fun twist. I won’t spoil anything, but the Final Boss is downright evil. It had me struggling way more than I expected. In the end, though, the mix of charm and surprise challenge made the whole thing way more memorable than it seems at first glance.

Really love the background art! Runs pretty well on steamdeck. I see a lot of reviewers talking about this game's difficulties and I think it's regarding chase sequences. Once I stopped taking it as boss fights, they're actually pretty interesting and enjoyable, I've done 2 chase sequences so far. Might update this review later :)

*Purr* - The Cat =================================================================== This is such a heartwarming Game with a touch of "dark side" in the Story. The Mechanics are all well put, easy to learn, and actually really enjoyable even if I have to do them many times. The Music and Audio are really amazing! I enjoy every step of the way, even until the end of the Credit, because of them. The Puzzles are also fun to do and not that frustrating, even when some of them needed several attempts to solve. When it comes to the overall Gameplay, it's the usual Platformer Game in a good way, and it's something that I can play and enjoy in my free time. =================================================================== I'm gonna give this Game a "Frog" out of "Pond".

Мило и сложно. Красивый рисованный платформер на точность с головоломками и эпичными боссами которые не дадут расслабится. Очень интересные механики. Музыка отличная. Есть две сложности, но они обе далеко не лёгкие. Главное хотя бы первого босса осилить с рендомной генерацией местности. Игра на 1 касание, но хоть чекпоинтов хватает (без них на 1й жизни наверное пройти не реально в первое прохождение). Для любителей достижений хороший челлендж закрыть на 100%. Удачи тому кто решится пройти игру за 3ч (разве что повторное похождение или параллельное для оттачивания навыка). Для тех кто принципиально берёт игру если есть перевод на его родной язык, то игре он вовсе не требуется. Спасибо Whyknot Studios и Red Dunes Games за фантастическую игру! https://youtu.be/65Y2Aa3ODig

かわいい猫ちゃんのゲームと思いきやそれなりの死にゲーでした。 日本語非対応ですが、メニューやオプションはシンプルでゲーム中も言葉がないので言語で困ることはありませんでした。 ■良かったところ ・かわいいキャラクターと動物たち ・テキストがなくてもそれとなくわかるストーリー ・美しい音楽 ・ほどよい難易度の謎解き ・隠し通路による収集要素 ・ボス戦のチェックポイントが多数あるのでそのうちクリアできる ■良くなかったところ、自分には合わなかったところ ・値段に対してのボリュームがやや少なく感じた 　※初回クリア：4時間、収集要素：2時間、全実績解除のための2周目：2時間くらい ・一部除いてほとんどのボス戦がかなり高難度 ■総評 おすすめできるゲームだが、セール待ちでもいいかも それなりにアクションが得意な人向けかも

It's a cute and small 2D platform that deserves your attention and you won't regret your time spent with this game. Highly recommend it. Also, love the soundtrack, especially the song from end credits scroll.

First 15 mins: "Aaaaaw 🥹" After 15 mins: "Waaaaa 😱"

I had such a wonderful time playing this game. I'm not very good at platformers, but the controls were smooth, the logic of how to do things in game was great, the boss battles were fantastic and I had a blast. Even when I failed multiple times at an area, I never felt the frustration or annoyance for failing like I've had for other games. I think that's a testiment to how well the game was put together so that nothing feels tedious or arbitrary while playing. The controls were easy to handle, I used a controller as recommended and had no issues whatsoever other than the fact I use a PS5 controller instead so I had to remember that the directions were different (unless there was an option to change that and I just didn't notice, if so then entirely on me!) The final boss fight was a real joy (even if I did joke that it was evil how they changed up the last few fights) and it made for a fight that truly felt like a proper boss fight instead of ending with a stumble across the finish line like I've seen with some other games in the past. The only critic I would have is during the Deepwater boss fight. I'm not someone who is photosensitive but the red flashing parts of the fight were pretty painful to my eyes, and those watching my stream agreed. I'm not sure if there'd be an easy way to fix it, but something to consider! Aside from gameplay, the art and designs were also lovely. I love love LOVE the art used for the backgrounds, the style is so pleasing to the eye and each zone in the game was very distinct and fun to take in. The design of Princess is adorable, who doesn't love a cute kitty with big, pleading eyes? The animals were all cute and fit the aesthetic well without being swallowed by the background or feeling out of place. The music was also fantastic. Nice to listen to and really helped make the world feel robust and unique with each area. The times where the music would go quiet or change to indicate a boss fight made me both anxious (in a good way) and excited because I could tell what was coming next.