SERPENT AT THE VERNISSAGE

Overall positive about my experience, but I sent in some feedback in the Discussion forum where I think a few rough edges could be smoothed pretty easily.

this game is a very sincere attempt at really showcasing an experience. it really does run like a movie. it does a good job at being surreal. it feels real but in a weird dreamy way. still room for polish. i put in almost 2 hours though, got 25% of the game complete. when i loaded the game, i was put way back on the island- and got bummed it didn't load me into where i saved, in the portal somewhere. i wanted to see how far i could get. i was getting pretty far and i felt kind of screwed over by the game because it didn't load me where i saved. which would be fine if there was a reason for me to retrace my steps to where i wanted to continue from (but im not sure if there is because i didnt try). that being said i will probably try again. i Genuinely want to see where this story is going- it has a lot of potential to be interesting. it does have epstien island lore vibes, but also weird futuristic astral stuff? the scene-scape definitely looks like the astral plane. #vaporwave. this game has home made vibes and you can tell it was made by one person, which is always cool to be able to notice.

I don't usually write reviews, but I wanted to put at least a little bit of effort to at least write something because of reasons. I stumbled onto this game during the most recent NextFest and decided I wanted to see where it went. It IS a relatively short game, but feel like it's worth the play regardless. The aesthetics are nice, the music is calm and relaxing, and the overall story took a couple of twists that I did expect, and a couple I didn't. I enjoyed my time here, and I think I agree when the game refers to itself as a "trip" lol

very cool

veritable vaporwave vibes

I really enjoyed my time with this game. Pros - Gameplay. It's an explorative walking sim with platforming, shooting and swimming elements. Mostly walking, but it's all about exploration. - You'll also be zipping around the archipelago with a speedboat which is neat. - Visual design is interesting, it's low poly with a mild pixelation filter and it still looks good. Bright purple/red hues and plenty of bloom. Very vaporwave. - Music and the ambiance are great. Music from the developer too! It's electronic ambient stuff, and quite fitting. - Worldbuilding and narrative are very interesting. Infiltrate and explore a hideaway for the super rich, pilfer its treasure. That's cool. All the worldbuilding is pretty charming and I enjoyed it. - Exploration is great, there's plenty to find. You can flip through records in a record store, they each have a little synopsis/description and I thought that was very interesting. That's the only example I'm giving but there's much more here. - This was made by one guy. I love a solo developed work. You can feel the personality and unity of vision throughout the whole game. - I really like the look of the UI and inventory screens. The designs of posters and documents are great too. - Kinda reminds me of Flower Sun & Rain a bit. Maybe because of the tropical setting, lots of running around, nice music and certain stylish HUD elements. Cons - This is a game where if you're stuck, you can be really stuck. In a way where you have no idea where to go and a wide open space to bumble around in. The environments are large and you might've missed something! I get it's an exploration game but things should be a little harder to miss. I personally missed the keycard by the floating pool, because it was dark and nothing really drew my attention to it. And this is in a big open archiepelago! I explored the whole thing as much as I could before realising the one item I missed, by looking at a Youtube longplay of the demo! I'm gonna write down some pointers/tips in a guide in case anyone else gets stuck. - A little rough around the edges. The platforming can feel a bit janky sometimes, I clipped inside a big statue/art piece while climbing it and it seemed like that was the right way to climb up. - A lot of time will be spent waiting for the stamina bar to recharge. At least early on, there are optional items to reduce this. - The boat you travel around in can be "called" at some docking stations, but this needs to be powered up by finding a maintenance room. If you can't get to it because you haven't got a required upgrade, you'll have to take a while to swim elsewhere. OR: - You can load a save and you'll always be returned to the same place with the boat parked nearby, but that causes another problem: no savescumming the platforming bits (No biggie, they aren't too tough). AND, this means you may use this method to get out of somewhere, not realising there was in fact a way out you were supposed to use to progress. This happened to me because I thought I was stuck when a way out opened up I didn't notice. - The sections where you trudge around massive open environments looking for something... anything... aren't too fun. The snowy one was fine, the landmarks were a little clearer, but the desert one was not good. - The snowmobile kinda sucks. It always tumbles down hills pointlessly, it's barely in the game. Thankfully I had some rings/items that made regular movement faster. Glad I didn't waste currency on the snowmobile beeper! This game is big and open, but I didn't mind bumbling around aimlessly with ambience and aesthetics this good. Very interesting worldbuilding/story with lots to find, and I enjoyed my time in The Pale Azure.

Peak

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