I streamed this game to the end looking for diamonds in the rough in Steam's newly released section. I didn't realize it was an RPG maker game until about halfway through, thanks to the deliberately beautiful, surreal, bizarre claymation artstyle present throughout almost the entire game.
I am very conflicted about this game first and foremost. It is rife with somewhat obtuse design and enemy encounters, most of which is eventually straightened out and improved upon as you progress, and as your understanding of the combat deepens. There is not a whole lot of mechanical depth in the game though- you do not get XP or even items to aid you in battle, most you find seem to do nothing at all. The story is also somewhat convoluted and hard to follow to a tee, but is still surprisingly captivating at times if you stick with it.
I love the art style in this game, it seems to be something the developer has been honing in on for a while, and I think he should pursue this further. While not a horror game, there's a very distinct disturbing vibe to a lot of the areas, and the atmosphere is just oozing out of the walls, especially in the lava/red lake areas.
Maybe it's because I was streaming, maybe it's because the writing and storytelling is intentionally murky, but I do sense that there's a strong story trying to break through the mold here, but I couldn't quite fully grasp all the themes at play and tie them together effectively, even after seeing the ending.
This is frustrating because there's a lot of very sharp and deliberate imagery about the mind, the senses, religion, self fulfillment, and more, and lots of compelling scenes, but there seems to be something missing that glues it all together in a satisfying way. I really wanted to see something more deliberate in that sense, but again, maybe I just missed the point.
I wish on top of all of this, as much as I can given the scope of the developer being one person, that there was just more meat on the bone. More mechanics, items, enemies, more shake ups in boss design, music, etc. There is definitely a game and a story here, but it does feel like there's so much more that could be elaborated on without bloating it too much.
However, it didn't need those things to be an enjoyable time for me and my stream, which is why I'm recommending it to fans of obscure cult classic surreal RPGs, though this one definitely punches above its weight bracket and comes so tantalizingly close that I'm left wanting the developer to take their obviously unique mind and really apply some simple things that will exponentially enhance the experience.
Combat is very simple at face value, revolving around determining what type of element an enemy is weak to, and which element they may attack with, to which you must block accordingly. If you choose wrong, and thanks to some of the more obfuscated hints in the game, you will, you take quite a staggering amount of damage, since it shouldn't be something you could mess up more than once or twice anyways.
Sometimes the mixed or obscure messaging causes a death which can be frustrating when you have to navigate back to said enemy, especially if you didn't rest at a save spot nearby.
Overall, if you like to peer inside the mind of devoted, creative people and their passion projects, or you just want to sink your teeth into an obscure RPG with a bizarrely enchanting story and world, I would recommend this game. I don't know how much my streaming of the game enhanced my enjoyment, and I tried to separate these things for this review.
Cool game, and I will definitely be watching for more.
Link to VOD: https://youtu.be/Qz1wzRt1-Rc
Edit: I went through the game a second time seeing as the developer updated the game with some quality of life fixes and even added an NPC. I am planning on making an analysis of this game and its story. My recommendation is stronger with these fixes he implemented.
